A report on the preliminary findings based on an inspection of the ongoing roadworks in the district along with explanations by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Public Works Department (PWD) has been forwarded to the Kerala High Court, Ernakulam District Collector Renu Raj has said.
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Talking at a meet-the-press organised by the Ernakulam Press Club here on Wednesday, Dr. Raj said that the matter being sub judice, follow-up action would be taken based on the directions of the court.
She said that since it was a highly technical subject, it was not possible to draw conclusions based on a half-day inspection. Instead, the report detailed the preliminary observations along with a status report on the works and explanations of the NHAI and the PWD on the works being done.
Role of Collectors
A banana tree symbolically planted with the photograph of Public Works Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas in a pothole at Makkaraparamba, near Malappuram, by the Muslim Youth League. | Photo Credit: SAKEER HUSSAIN
Dr. Raj said that a State-level decision was needed to define the role of the District Collectors in road maintenance in the long term since their action needed statutory backing. The NHAI and the PWD were not agencies under the jurisdiction of the district administration and had their own hierarchy. While a Collector could intervene when there was an issue, in the long term all the stakeholders needed to be brought together.