The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Work on city roads project to resume

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Tuesday, Mar 11, 2008
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Work on city roads project to resume

Special Correspondent

Chief Minister to inaugurate programme

90 per cent of
land acquisition
completed
Project to be completed within
18 months

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The second stage of the City Roads Improvement Programme will formally get under way on Tuesday, with Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan inaugurating the works.

The government has completed the acquisition of nearly 90 per cent of the land required for this Rs.525-crore road widening and development programme, Public Works Minister Mons Joseph said at a press conference here on Monday. He said the works would be so scheduled as to complete the programme within the next 18 months.

A committee consisting of Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac, Minister for Local Self-Government Paloli Mohammed Kutty, Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran and Law Minister M. Vijayakumar, in addition to Mr. Mons Joseph, would ensure timely resolution of any problem the programme may encounter during the implementation stage.

Items of works included in the first stage of the programme, which were held up due to various reasons, too would be resumed on Tuesday, Mr. Mons Joseph said.

Mr. Vijayakumar, who also addressed the press conference, said that, originally, the idea was to complete the entire road development programme in the city by December 2006.

However, the government did not complete the land acquisition process in time.

The works were awarded before even a minor portion of the requisite land was acquired. This was a gross irregularity and it brought up serious problems for the government with respect to the works contracts, he said.

The programme envisaged the construction of two flyovers and one underpass, expansion of the traffic flow facilities at 64 road junctions and development of a total stretch of 42 km of roads in Thiruvananthapuram.

It will be a milestone in the history of the city’s development, according to Mr. Vijayakumar.

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