Thiruvananthapuram: The Government has decided to renew the agreement with Thiruvananthapuram Road Development Company Limited (TRDCL) to resume work on the stalled City Roads Improvement Project, Minister for Public Works T.U. Kuruvilla said on Saturday.

He was speaking at a press conference here. The company had been directed to continue the work on the project which ground to a halt in November 2006 as the required land was not acquired and handed over, the Minister said. "Work has already resumed at Bakery Junction to resurface the roads dug up for the construction of a flyover."

The Minister said a detailed schedule had been worked out to hand over all the land before June 30. "The schedule was prepared after several rounds of talks with the Ministers for Local Self-Government, Law and Revenue, the Chief Secretary, senior officials of various departments, the Mayor and MLAs," he said.

"TRDCL is seeking a compensation of Rs.120 crore from the Government for the delay in handing over the land. A committee headed by the Chief Secretary is examining the legal and financial implications of the compensation claim. Another committee, including the secretaries of the Local Self-Government and Public Works departments, has been constituted to remove the hurdles in land acquisition," Mr. Kuruvilla said.

Of the 42 km of roads identified for the project, only 14.66 km were handed over to TRDCL by November 2006.

Land acquisition

Steps had been taken to resolve the hurdles in acquiring land on the Accountant General's office premises and to vacate the stay on the demolition of the Kulathunkal building at Pulimoodu, Mr. Kuruvilla said. Arrangements were being made to shift utility lines and cut down trees to widen the roads. The Kerala State Electricity Board had also agreed to remove the Ring Main Unit at Bakery Junction, he added.

However, the Minister was not clear on the release of funds required for land acquisition. All he said was that the resources would be identified by the Kerala Road Fund Board. Mr. Kuruvilla said he had convened a meeting on Monday with the management of Punj Lloyd, the construction company executing the project. Asked about the options before the Government if the talks failed, he replied, "We will deal with it at that time."

The City Roads Improvement Project involves the development of 44 km of roads, two flyovers, an underpass, 65 junctions and 94 bus bays. The Minister said the Government would hold talks with the consortium of nationalised banks funding the project to negotiate the terms and rate of interest. He said the Chief Secretary had been directed to coordinate the land acquisition work with various departments involved in the project.

DCC stir

Meanwhile, the District Congress Committee (DCC) on Saturday announced its plan to stage an indefinite agitation against the Government's failure to resume work on the roads project. Addressing a press conference, DCC president V.S. Sivakumar said people from all walks of life would participate in a protest dharna at Bakery Junction on Monday.

The Government had failed to activate the coordination committee for the roads project that was set up during the A.K. Antony regime, he added.

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