Two years after its conception, the Corporation’s ambitious initiative for Broadway and Ernakulam Market renovation has reached nowhere.
With the Chief Technical Examiner Committee not giving its clearance for the allotment of tender at an excess amount than the actual project cost, now it is for the state government to take a final decision on the fate of the Broadway and Ernakulam Market Heritage Urban Renewal Project.
The Rs 21.5-crore project was included under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and got the clearance from the Central Government in February 2010.
But the project later came to a standstill.
Later in 2011-end, the Corporation decided to float the tender for the work.
The scope of work includes remodeling the Ernakulam Broadway and market with modern facilities without damaging the architectural ensemble.
The project also includes electrification of Broadway, uninterrupted water supply, proper drains, electrification of market, construction of a biogas plant and conservation and beautification of the market pond without any deviation from its existing structure.
But the agencies that responded to the tender quoted an amount higher than the actual budget, which further delayed the allotment of the work.
The tenders were submitted in January 2012.
“The Corporation then submitted the lowest quoted tender for Rs 34 crore and the project details before the Chief Technical Examiner Committee. In some cases, the committee will directly give the nod for the projects with an exceeded tender amount. But in this case, they have decided to send it to the Cabinet to take a final decision,” said a Corporation official.
However, the official said the civic body expects that the project would be presented in the Cabinet soon.
As per the project prepared by the Centre for Heritage Environment and Development (C-HED), the key components include heritage conservation, waste management, traffic management as well as vendor and street hawkers’ management.
* The Rs 21. 5-crore project was included under the JNNURM
*Got clearance from the Central Government in February 2010
* In 2011-end, the Corporation decided to float the tender for the work
* The Corporation submitted the lowest-quoted tender for Rs 34 crore and the project details before the Chief Technical Examiner Committee.
*Chief Technical Examiner Committee to send it to the Cabi- net to take a final decision