The Kochi Corporation’s proposal to include the construction of the three flyovers at Vyttila, Palarivattom and Kundannoor under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) has created a controversy within the Public Works Department.
PWD Minister Ebrahim Kunju has said that the plans to include the flyovers in Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission were not discussed with him, nor has any such suggestion been placed before the state government.
Also, the move is uncalled for, as the decision to build the flyovers by the state government on its own was taken at the cabinet meeting last week. Sources within the PWD said that it is not practical to build the flyovers under the JNNURM scheme, as it would require a lot of land acquisition. “If the flyovers will be build under the JNNURM scheme, the minimum width of the flyover would be 22 metres,” the officials said.
The Public Works Department has already decided to prepare a DPR for the flyovers and go ahead with the project. The PWD Minister said that it was inappropriate for the Mayor to come up with the proposal, especially as it has not been discussed at the state-level. He also accused the Mayor of not bringing up the suggestion earlier when the discussions to construct flyovers in Kochi were still shaping up.
The minister said that the Corporation has also failed to complete the work of the flyover at Atlantis. Meanwhile, the Mayor reiterated that he had brought the matter to the notice of the Chief Minister.