The reconstruction work of the Rajiv Gandhi bus terminal on Maraimalai Adigal Salai at ₹15.75 crore under the Smart Cities Mission appears to be running aground because of the difficulty faced by NBCC (India) Ltd, a Central government undertaking in getting a full extent of the site for the project and also in readying an alternative site to shift the bus stand till the project is completed.
According to official sources, only 30 percent of the total extent of the bus terminal has been handed over to the project contractor and the proposal to shift the bus stand to AFT ground on the Cuddalore Road as a temporary arrangement is also facing several obstacles because of protests by a group of people in the area.
“Due to protests from people, NBCC (India) Ltd. is unable to go ahead with the project. When a team from NBCC (India) Ltd visited the proposed site for establishment of the temporary bus stand, they had to stop the work due to protests ,” an official from the undertaking said.
The official adds, “We had taken up the issue with the Commissioner of Puducherry Municipality, S. Sivakumar, at least four times after the team faced protests when they arrived at the AFT grounds to begin work on levelling the land for the temporary bus terminus. However, there has been no response from the Commissioner so far.”
“The row has cast a shadow on the renovation of the bus stand project also since the work could be completed only if the operation of buses is shifted to an alternative location. If we lose the project, chances are least for us to get another funding for other Smart City projects from the Centre,” an official of the Puducherry Smart City Development Limited (PSCDL) said.
NBCC (India) Ltd authorities have accused the Commissioner of not extending cooperation in handing over the site on Cuddalore Road for readying the temporary bus stand. The facility is required for facilitating smooth operation of buses.This has given rise to a situation where doubts have emerged as to whether the Smart City project would be successfully implemented.
The Government should intervene immediately and ensure the project is implemented before the deadline since the funds allotted for the project would not be available beyond a point of time due to risk of cost overrun, an official said.
PSCDL authorities said that the Puducherry Municipality has been citing want of funds as the reason for their inability to level the AFT ground to enable the establishment of the temporary bus stand. Though the Navaratana company is ready to take up the work, the local body has not extended any cooperation.
According to a senior Government official, “An Inspection committee has been constituted to review the project status. The committee will be submitting their report to the Chief Executive Officer of PSCDL.”
PSCDL has also directed the Puducherry Municipality to extend full cooperation to NBCC (India) Ltd for speedy completion of the project. If any lapses are found in the implementation of the project stringent action would be taken against the officials concerned, he said.
