The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Ambitious projects, yet slow progress

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 05, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Ambitious projects, yet slow progress

K. Manikandan and K. Lakshmi

In southern suburbs, not one project has been completed on time; half-a-dozen have hit a dead-end

HANGING IN THE AIR: An overbridge at Maduvankarai which remains incomplete for over three years. — Photo: T. Vijayalakshmi

K. Manikandan

and K. Lakshmi

CHENNAI : Work on road overbridges and subways in the city's suburbs have been badly hit by delays in land acquisition, rows over compensation, absence of periodical review, work abandoned by contractors and poor coordination between local bodies and the State government departments.

In the southern suburbs, not one major project has been completed on time. At least half-a-dozen projects have hit a dead-end.

For instance, the replacement of the railway level crossing (LC No.13) linking Grand Southern Trunk Road via MKN Road with Chakrapani Street between Alandur and Guindy railway stations began in January 2004. The Rs. 26 crore-project has overshot the scheduled date of completion by a full year now. At several places the encroachments are still being removed.

During a recent inspection, Highways Minister Vellakoil Saminathan said the contractor had abandoned work midway and fresh tenders have been called to complete the remaining works at a cost of Rs. 7 crore.

Employees of a leading private company that won the contract for a few projects in the region claimed that the government did not do the necessary groundwork. The firm has executed grade separators and road overbridges in Bangalore. An executive said the administrators in Karnataka completed formalities relating to land acquisition and funds sanction before entrusting work to the contractor.

Sanatorium bridge

A road overbridge near Tambaram Sanatorium railway station that should have been finished in 2005 ran into controversy with a section of residents in the area moving the court over problems concerning the design. Of the Rs. 14 crore sanctioned for the project, nearly Rs. 9 crore has been allotted as compensation for landowners, while the rest is earmarked for civil works.

In Pallavaram, a road overbridge to replace the level crossing near the station has been pending for more than two years due to land acquisition problems. The Southern Railway has completed a limited use subway for two-wheelers and cars near the site, but the Rs. 13.30 crore bridge could be completed only after a nod from the Defence Ministry.

In Meenambakkam, the Rs. 10 crore subway project to replace the level crossing near the railway station should have been completed as early as 2002, but only a portion of the work has been executed by the Southern Railway on its land.

Acquisition needed

Acquiring 4.23 acres of land from the Ministry of Defence is necessary to completing the projects in Meenambakkam and Pallavaram. Though land has been identified, work can start only if the Centre hands over the `enter upon' agreement to the State Government, according to senior engineers of the State Highways Department.

In comparison, work seems to be proceeding at a faster pace at the road overbridge in Padi junction.

But, even here, only 40 per cent of the work has been completed so far. The project envisages easing of traffic between Anna Nagar, Padi, Villivakkam and Red Hills.

It was inaugurated by Union Minister for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways T.R. Baalu, with a ground-breaking ceremony, in 2005 and scheduled to be completed by April this year.

An official of National Highways Authority of India, the agency in charge of the project execution, said the construction work was behind schedule as the Southern Railway is yet to shift the level crossing at Padi to enable bridge construction work. "We plan to complete the project by December," he said.

The Pattabiram railway overbridge project is facing some problems related to removal of encroachments.

The bridge connects Pattabiram and Poonamallee via Thandurai. Residents who have waged a battle for the bridge for almost two decades are worried about the delay in removing encroachments at South Bazaar, which lies on one side of the proposed bridge.

The project was due to be completed in September 2006.

The portion of work to be taken up by the Southern Railways near the Pattabiram railway station is still at the preliminary stage.

The project will need at least six months more for completion.

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