The territorial administration is expecting clearance from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for the alignment of the elevated corridor connecting Indira Gandhi Square and Rajiv Gandhi Square shortly, Minister for Public Works K. Lakshminarayanan said on Tuesday.
“We are expecting clearance from MoRTH for the alignment in the next 15 days. After the alignment gets approval, a detailed project report will be prepared for the grade separator connecting the two main signals in the town,” he said, addressing a press conference in Puducherry to share details of the programmes undergone by his departments in the last two years.
Emphasising the importance given to infrastructure development, the Minister said plans are in place to speed up the elevated corridor project. The Centre has agreed to fund the project; he said adding the grade separator would cost around ₹ 450 crore.
When pointed out the long delay in executing the bridge over the Uppanar Canal, the Minister said there are various reasons for the slow progress of the project.
Pointing out the latest arbitration process involved in the civil works for the bridge project, the Minister said the government will now pay around ₹13.3 crore to the earlier contractor. After paying the amount, the work order given to the contractor will be closed and a fresh tender floated. The remaining 100 metre of the bridge would be taken up after finalising the new tender, he said.
Further listing out the infrastructure works initiated by the government, the Minister said the Public Works Department would be taking up ₹1,150 crore worth of road works by March next year. Already, around ₹200 had been utilised for laying roads, and works for around ₹340 core are at various stages, he said.
The government has also initiated several works worth more than ₹100 crore to improve drinking water supply, sewage channels, and augment infrastructure of schools and hospitals, the Minister said.
Improve tourism sector
On the measures to improve the tourism sector, the Minister said around 19 lakh tourists visited the region last year. The number is expected to go up in the coming years, he said, adding that efforts are on to improve the infrastructure needs of the tourism sector.
A ten-year perspective plan considering the region’s tourism potential was being prepared, he said.
When asked for his response to Chief Minister N. Rangasamy’s remarks about administrative difficulties faced by the government, the Minister said the Chief Minister was merely stating a fact about the non-cooperation of certain officials.
“There is no power struggle or fight. The Chief Minister only stated a fact about the attitude of certain officials that was causing hindrance to the speedy implementation of schemes,” the Minister said.
