Public Works Minister G. Sudhakaran has come down heavily on the threat by the contracting firm to stop work on the Vyttila flyover and said that his department would take punitive action if work was delayed.
Mr. Sudhakaran said his department had not got any complaint regarding pending dues for the work done. The government would not bow to threat by contractors, said Mr. Sudhakaran in a statement.
Responding to the report carried by The Hindu on the contractor's grievances, the Minister said that while the contractor complained about the revised estimate, there had been no such directive to have a revised estimate. The government did not encourage revised estimates unless there was a technical need, he said. Such decisions were not kept pending too.
Since the Vyttila flyover was a project under the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), it had to vet any revision, said Mr. Sudhakaran.
He said the contractor should report problems if any to the department of Public Works and Finance and take permission in this regard. Stoppage of work would amount to challenging the people and this would not be permitted, he said.
If complaints were given in writing, they would be looked into and necessary steps taken to resolve them, he said.
Workers fail to turn up
Official sources said no worker had turned up for work at the Vyttial flyover on Wednesday. In the meantime, a senior PWD official blamed the KIIFB for the delay in scrutinising the revised estimate of the flyover project and releasing funds. This was among the reasons for the construction suffering delay, he said.
