KOCHI: Recurring impediments in the construction of a bridge at Chalakudy is proving to be a nightmare for travellers on the road connecting Kochi to Palakkad. Traffic moves at a snail’s pace in the national highway and vehicles are struck for hours on the stretch on most days.
Unfortunately, it is not the lack of funds or any kind of clearance from the NHAI that is delaying the project this time. The ongoing construction has been delayed for over a month due to the stop memos issued by two local grama panchayats restricting the excavation of soil for the project.
The Pariyaram grama panchayat restricted construction by imposing a ban on heavy vehicles along the Peearmozhi-Kottamala road, while the Thrikkur Panchayat issued a stop-memo to the Kochi-based company, EKK Ltd. for failing to consult with panchayat officials before the district administration issued a permission letter.
“To construct the approach road to the bridge, a large quantity of soil is required. Though we got the same from Peelarmozhi panchayat, the panchayat officials issued a stop memo. We got a favourable verdict from the court. However, they issued an order imposing a ban on heavy vehicles. This prevented us from transporting the mud to the site in heavy vehicles. Following this, we decided to collect the mud from Thrikkur panchayat. But that too landed in trouble, as they too issued a stop memo saying that the geology department and other departments concerned did not initiate a talk with them,” said Ajeesh, project coordinator, EKK.
The panchayats’ allege that the company failed to provide an environment clearance certificate to excavate soil to construct the approach road. “ We got the clearance from the district administration after the geology department and other departments inspected the land. For the National Highway Project, the environment certificate is not mandatory. We can only start the reinforced earth wall construction after getting sufficient soil to fill the approach road. The panchayats are having issues.
But if we can’t complete the project before the upcoming monsoon, this construction will be delayed for a long time,” he added.
Meanwhile, the stop-order memo from the panchayat has resulted in Rs 2 crore loss for the company.
“ We have to spend a large amount of money on the soil. But when they issued the stop memo, we were forced to stop the work. The delay has resulted in a loss of Rs 2 crore,” he said. The company is also planning to approach the government to avoid these kinds of issues being created by the local bodies.