Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh has asked Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to intervene urgently to ensure that Kerala sticks to its schedule for completion of schemes under the Prime Minister’s Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).
In a letter to Mr. Chandy after reviewing the progress of work under the PMGSY with State Rural Development Minister K.C. Joseph, Mr. Ramesh pointed out that unless there was personal intervention from Mr. Chandy, the PMGSY programme would not remain on schedule in Kerala.
The Minister said the Delhi review meeting with Mr. Joseph had resolved that the State Cabinet would decide on the tender premium for the work at its meeting on Wednesday. Once the tender premium was announced, the review process of the responses received for the 310 roads (about 740 km) would begin and the works would be awarded by January 15, 2014. The offer by a Central PSU to augment execution capacity stood and should be seriously explored by the State government, he said.
Mr. Ramesh also reminded Mr. Chandy that his Ministry was yet to receive the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for the additional 250 km road proposed by the State under the PMGSY. This included the package for Attappady.
At the Delhi meeting, it was agreed that these DPRs would be submitted by the end of December. An officer of the Ministry of Rural Development would visit Kerala on Friday to follow up on the decisions taken at Delhi.
