A report in ‘The Times of India’ on Nov 9 under the headline ‘Rs.4,500 cr. worth road projects in TN stuck due to corruption, red tape’ stated: “Half of National Highway 205 that connects Chennai and Tirupati falls in Tamil Nadu, and the other half in Andhra Pradesh. While the stretch in Andhra Pradesh is well laid, it’s a bumpy ride on the Tamil Nadu side. This is but one example of how corruption and lack of cooperation by the State government has left national highway projects have reached nowhere.
Eight road projects that were to cover 972.3km at a cost of Rs 4,641 crore are stuck, as contractors refuse to invest in Tamil Nadu, said a senior NHAI official. Of the 124.7 km Chennai-Tirupati road to be widened, only 96.6km has been completed. “All the unfinished parts are in Tamil Nadu. They remain so because NHAI cannot pay local cartels that control quarries from where earth is moved for road-laying. While the state highways department incorporates these “extra cost” into the budget, NHAI cannot do such things,” said NHAI chief general manager I G Reddy.
The Madurai - Ramanathapuram - Rameswaram stretch, which has to be widened from two to four lanes, has been pending for a long time. “We floated tenders twice, but no one came forward,” said Reddy. “This happens only in Tamil Nadu.” The biggest obstacle in laying or widening roads is the availability of earth materials after quarrying. To get earth, NHAI has to get permission from the district Geology and Mining department. “We include the government costs to the overall cost of the project. But local cartels demand a huge sum - up to Rs 100 a cubic metre - to be paid before the project is cleared,” said Reddy. “The state government and police have failed to register complains,” he added.
Three big projects – four laning of the Thiruvananthapuram- Kanyakumari stretch, the Madurai - Ramanathapurm - Rameswaram road and the Vikravandi - Kumbakonam stretch add up to Rs2,250 crore. “These are high-density corridors. The Thiruvananthapuram - Kanyakumari road is taken by a lot of tourists,” said the official.
This July, NHAI chairman R P Singh wrote to Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary Sheela Balakrishnan about the problems contractors face here. “Contractors/ concessionaires are complaining of abnormal delay in granting the requisite permission, which is causing delay in timely completion of the projects, apart from cost overruns. During the last two months, the physical targets for Tamil Nadu could not be achieved, mainly due to non-availability of material for taking up the work,” read the letter to the Chief Secretary. Four months later, there is still no response.
The State has also not yet signed the ‘umbrella State support agreement,’ which is a requirement for public-private partnerships. Several banks and lending institutions insist on this agreement as a pre-condition for release of funds. It’s a stretch of highway that is thick with both pilgrim and business traffic, yet the highway connecting Madurai, Ramanathapuram and Rameswaram continues to be a two-lane road.
A project to widen it is stuck due to lack of support from the State government and slow bureaucratic processes. The Rs 874crore, 115km road widening project, which is part of phase three of the National Highways Development Project (NHDP), is now waiting for financial support from the Centre. NHDP is a Central project to improve 12,000km of roads across the country, of which 1,500km are in Tamil Nadu. “We floated tenders twice but contractors are not willing to invest here,” said an official from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). “The state has not created a conducive atmosphere for contractors,” he said. Since the State has not signed an umbrella state support agreement with NHAI, contractors feel that projects may not be implemented smoothly.
For the Madurai-Rameswaram stretch, the first hurdle came when villagers protested against the alignment of the road. Though NHAI has since completed acquisition, the second hurdle comes in procuring earth material at reasonable rates for laying the road, which deters contractors. The Madurai-Ramanathapuram-Rameswaram stretch is the largest of eight projects in TN that are to be awarded to contractors.
“The traffic density will rise, especially after industries come up and the Sethusamudram project is completed,” said the official. (But the Sethusamudram project is also held up by the ADMK regime through a litigation in the Supreme Court).
Industry leaders in Ramanathapuram said the State government needs to show the foresight needed to develop the region. Right now, salt, wood charcoal and seafood industries dominate Ramanathapuram, but the district has more potential. “Caustic soda plants could be started making the district a hub for iodised salt production as it has 250km of seashore,” said Gupta R Govindarajan, secretary of Ramanathapuram Chamber of Commerce and Industry. B Jagadeesan, president of the chamber, said widening the road was essential to handle existing traffic. “Lakhs of tourists from across the globe visit the Rameswaram temple and Erwadi dargah throughout the year,” he said”.
A report in daily ‘Deccan Chronicle’ on Nov 12 under the heading “Reconsider ‘stop work’ order, NHAI tells TN government” stated: “With the contractor of the Chennai port-Maduravoyal elevated expressway project making a fresh claim of Rs. 945 crore, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has written to the State government giving it a last ‘opportunity’ to reconsider its decision to stop the project failing which it would terminate the contract.
“The NHAI board is of the tentative view that a last opportunity may be given to the State government for withdrawing the stoppage order failing which it will consider terminating the concessionaire agreement,” Satish Cha¬ndra, member (Fin¬ance) of NHAI said in a letter dated October 25 to Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary Sheela Balakrishnan.
The Rs 1,815-crore elevated corridor project was put on hold in March 2012 following a ‘stop work’ notice issued by the Water Resources Department alleging deviation in the alignment of the corridor along the banks of the Cooum from the originally approved alignment.
NHAI’s latest appeal to the State government came in the wake of the concessionaire, the Chennai Elevated Tollway Ltd (CETL), seeking compensation of Rs 945.16 crore for the losses suffered by it till September 30. CETL team leader W. Pra¬ka¬sa Rao, in a re¬cent letter to the General Manager (Technical), NHAI, New Delhi, sought payment of Rs 945 as compensation toward loss suffered by it within 30 days of receipt of his letter.
Sources in NHAI said that they would be forced to terminate the contract if the State government did not reverse its decision. “Holding the project for a long time will lead to payment of an hefty compensation to the contractor,” the official said. The NHAI had also approached the Ma¬dras High Court seeking a direction to qu¬¬ash the order stopping the work and it also submitted an additional affidavit stating that the State government is bound to bear all financial expenditure on account of stoppage of the project”.
The Rs. 1,815 crore elevated expressway project from Chennai Port to Maduravoyal, started with much expectation from the industry and residents of Chennai in September 2010, has been put on hold by this recalcitrant regime.
Hundreds of cement pillars standing alongside the meandering Cooum river have been silently awaiting a solution for the last two years – yet another case of a delayed infrastructure project. Who is to blame this time? Was it lack of proper planning? An unexpected hurdle? No, not at all.
This project had the support of both State and Central governments. The State agreed to contribute Rs. 470 crore in the form of land and relief and rehabilitation measures, the Central government, Rs. 500 crore and the Chennai Port, Rs. 235 crore. After an initial hurdle because of land acquisition, the project picked up pace and columns were built at various locations. In 2011 the government changed, and a year later, the project came to a grinding halt. The reasons given were that the alignment was improper and pillars had encroached on the river bed obstructing the flow of water. What is strange is that it was the same set of officials of the Water Resources Department who cleared the project in the first place, who have now raised objections. How could a project that appeared all well and certified as acceptable by professionals a year ago, turn into something that is faulty?
Each passing day without any progress only increases the cost. The compensation to be paid by the National Highways Authority of India to the contractor under various heads rises. With 30 per cent of the project having been completed, and uncertainty still lingering, only public money seems to be wasted and the addition of infrastructure to the city is delayed.
This is not the only project the city is uncertain about. Chennai High Speed Circular Transportation Corridor that was to take off from Adyar and connect with Chennai Bypass has come to a complete halt. A detailed feasibility report was completed and a detailed project report was to have been prepared for the first phase. Another proposal that has been grounded is the formation of bicycle tracks by the Chennai Corporation. The Corporation had been considering bicycle tracks in Adyar and Besant Nagar, areas that have a high density of schools and many students who get there by bicycle. Initially, an 8 km stretch of arterial roads in Anna Nagar, which serves 14 schools, was to be covered for a pilot project. Design proposals were prepared and even publicised. Now there is no news about the project.
The question is, why should critical infrastructure projects that are essential to the city and elsewhere in the State stop every time a government changes? The departments and officials who administer the projects in one government completely change face and position when another takes over, and bring out convoluted reasons against implementing or completing them. It is the city and State and people who bear the brunt and suffer from these whimsical changes and decisions. In neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, despite changes in government, many projects continue. It appears public interest and careful use of common resource are a priority there. Why it happens only in Tamil Nadu, that too whenever the present incumbent in power in the State returns to office of the Chief Minister?
The suspension of civil works on the Chennai Port-Maduravoyal elevated corridor project since February 2012 has put two vital projects of the Chennai Port Trust (ChPT) in limbo. The affected projects are the Rs 3,686 crore mega container terminal and the Rs 415 crore integrated dry port and multi-modal logistics hub near Sriperumbudur.
The stalling of Sethusamudram project by this regime has hampered the development of Tuticorin port and nine more minor ports and industrial development of southern districts.
The captains of industry in the country need no lectures on the vital need of ports and road infrastructure for the development of industry and trade. Chennai and Tuticorin are the only two major ports in Tamil Nadu and the development of both of them have been hindered by this reckless regime of Jayalalitha. While DMK, a political party conscious of the progress and development of the State, had been agitating against the wanton obstruction caused by this regime for the development of these ports and other infrastructure projects, it is most regrettable that the ‘most powerful’ bodies of Indian industry, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India (ASSOCHAM) and the high profile business dailies and journal were remaining as silent spectators of this senseless liquidation of industry in this part of the country. Will they wake up?
Eight road projects that were to cover 972.3km at a cost of Rs 4,641 crore are stuck, as contractors refuse to invest in Tamil Nadu, said a senior NHAI official. Of the 124.7 km Chennai-Tirupati road to be widened, only 96.6km has been completed. “All the unfinished parts are in Tamil Nadu. They remain so because NHAI cannot pay local cartels that control quarries from where earth is moved for road-laying. While the state highways department incorporates these “extra cost” into the budget, NHAI cannot do such things,” said NHAI chief general manager I G Reddy.
The Madurai - Ramanathapuram - Rameswaram stretch, which has to be widened from two to four lanes, has been pending for a long time. “We floated tenders twice, but no one came forward,” said Reddy. “This happens only in Tamil Nadu.” The biggest obstacle in laying or widening roads is the availability of earth materials after quarrying. To get earth, NHAI has to get permission from the district Geology and Mining department. “We include the government costs to the overall cost of the project. But local cartels demand a huge sum - up to Rs 100 a cubic metre - to be paid before the project is cleared,” said Reddy. “The state government and police have failed to register complains,” he added.
Three big projects – four laning of the Thiruvananthapuram- Kanyakumari stretch, the Madurai - Ramanathapurm - Rameswaram road and the Vikravandi - Kumbakonam stretch add up to Rs2,250 crore. “These are high-density corridors. The Thiruvananthapuram - Kanyakumari road is taken by a lot of tourists,” said the official.
This July, NHAI chairman R P Singh wrote to Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary Sheela Balakrishnan about the problems contractors face here. “Contractors/ concessionaires are complaining of abnormal delay in granting the requisite permission, which is causing delay in timely completion of the projects, apart from cost overruns. During the last two months, the physical targets for Tamil Nadu could not be achieved, mainly due to non-availability of material for taking up the work,” read the letter to the Chief Secretary. Four months later, there is still no response.
The State has also not yet signed the ‘umbrella State support agreement,’ which is a requirement for public-private partnerships. Several banks and lending institutions insist on this agreement as a pre-condition for release of funds. It’s a stretch of highway that is thick with both pilgrim and business traffic, yet the highway connecting Madurai, Ramanathapuram and Rameswaram continues to be a two-lane road.
A project to widen it is stuck due to lack of support from the State government and slow bureaucratic processes. The Rs 874crore, 115km road widening project, which is part of phase three of the National Highways Development Project (NHDP), is now waiting for financial support from the Centre. NHDP is a Central project to improve 12,000km of roads across the country, of which 1,500km are in Tamil Nadu. “We floated tenders twice but contractors are not willing to invest here,” said an official from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). “The state has not created a conducive atmosphere for contractors,” he said. Since the State has not signed an umbrella state support agreement with NHAI, contractors feel that projects may not be implemented smoothly.
For the Madurai-Rameswaram stretch, the first hurdle came when villagers protested against the alignment of the road. Though NHAI has since completed acquisition, the second hurdle comes in procuring earth material at reasonable rates for laying the road, which deters contractors. The Madurai-Ramanathapuram-Rameswaram stretch is the largest of eight projects in TN that are to be awarded to contractors.
“The traffic density will rise, especially after industries come up and the Sethusamudram project is completed,” said the official. (But the Sethusamudram project is also held up by the ADMK regime through a litigation in the Supreme Court).
Industry leaders in Ramanathapuram said the State government needs to show the foresight needed to develop the region. Right now, salt, wood charcoal and seafood industries dominate Ramanathapuram, but the district has more potential. “Caustic soda plants could be started making the district a hub for iodised salt production as it has 250km of seashore,” said Gupta R Govindarajan, secretary of Ramanathapuram Chamber of Commerce and Industry. B Jagadeesan, president of the chamber, said widening the road was essential to handle existing traffic. “Lakhs of tourists from across the globe visit the Rameswaram temple and Erwadi dargah throughout the year,” he said”.
A report in daily ‘Deccan Chronicle’ on Nov 12 under the heading “Reconsider ‘stop work’ order, NHAI tells TN government” stated: “With the contractor of the Chennai port-Maduravoyal elevated expressway project making a fresh claim of Rs. 945 crore, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has written to the State government giving it a last ‘opportunity’ to reconsider its decision to stop the project failing which it would terminate the contract.
“The NHAI board is of the tentative view that a last opportunity may be given to the State government for withdrawing the stoppage order failing which it will consider terminating the concessionaire agreement,” Satish Cha¬ndra, member (Fin¬ance) of NHAI said in a letter dated October 25 to Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary Sheela Balakrishnan.
The Rs 1,815-crore elevated corridor project was put on hold in March 2012 following a ‘stop work’ notice issued by the Water Resources Department alleging deviation in the alignment of the corridor along the banks of the Cooum from the originally approved alignment.
NHAI’s latest appeal to the State government came in the wake of the concessionaire, the Chennai Elevated Tollway Ltd (CETL), seeking compensation of Rs 945.16 crore for the losses suffered by it till September 30. CETL team leader W. Pra¬ka¬sa Rao, in a re¬cent letter to the General Manager (Technical), NHAI, New Delhi, sought payment of Rs 945 as compensation toward loss suffered by it within 30 days of receipt of his letter.
Sources in NHAI said that they would be forced to terminate the contract if the State government did not reverse its decision. “Holding the project for a long time will lead to payment of an hefty compensation to the contractor,” the official said. The NHAI had also approached the Ma¬dras High Court seeking a direction to qu¬¬ash the order stopping the work and it also submitted an additional affidavit stating that the State government is bound to bear all financial expenditure on account of stoppage of the project”.
The Rs. 1,815 crore elevated expressway project from Chennai Port to Maduravoyal, started with much expectation from the industry and residents of Chennai in September 2010, has been put on hold by this recalcitrant regime.
Hundreds of cement pillars standing alongside the meandering Cooum river have been silently awaiting a solution for the last two years – yet another case of a delayed infrastructure project. Who is to blame this time? Was it lack of proper planning? An unexpected hurdle? No, not at all.
This project had the support of both State and Central governments. The State agreed to contribute Rs. 470 crore in the form of land and relief and rehabilitation measures, the Central government, Rs. 500 crore and the Chennai Port, Rs. 235 crore. After an initial hurdle because of land acquisition, the project picked up pace and columns were built at various locations. In 2011 the government changed, and a year later, the project came to a grinding halt. The reasons given were that the alignment was improper and pillars had encroached on the river bed obstructing the flow of water. What is strange is that it was the same set of officials of the Water Resources Department who cleared the project in the first place, who have now raised objections. How could a project that appeared all well and certified as acceptable by professionals a year ago, turn into something that is faulty?
Each passing day without any progress only increases the cost. The compensation to be paid by the National Highways Authority of India to the contractor under various heads rises. With 30 per cent of the project having been completed, and uncertainty still lingering, only public money seems to be wasted and the addition of infrastructure to the city is delayed.
This is not the only project the city is uncertain about. Chennai High Speed Circular Transportation Corridor that was to take off from Adyar and connect with Chennai Bypass has come to a complete halt. A detailed feasibility report was completed and a detailed project report was to have been prepared for the first phase. Another proposal that has been grounded is the formation of bicycle tracks by the Chennai Corporation. The Corporation had been considering bicycle tracks in Adyar and Besant Nagar, areas that have a high density of schools and many students who get there by bicycle. Initially, an 8 km stretch of arterial roads in Anna Nagar, which serves 14 schools, was to be covered for a pilot project. Design proposals were prepared and even publicised. Now there is no news about the project.
The question is, why should critical infrastructure projects that are essential to the city and elsewhere in the State stop every time a government changes? The departments and officials who administer the projects in one government completely change face and position when another takes over, and bring out convoluted reasons against implementing or completing them. It is the city and State and people who bear the brunt and suffer from these whimsical changes and decisions. In neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, despite changes in government, many projects continue. It appears public interest and careful use of common resource are a priority there. Why it happens only in Tamil Nadu, that too whenever the present incumbent in power in the State returns to office of the Chief Minister?
The suspension of civil works on the Chennai Port-Maduravoyal elevated corridor project since February 2012 has put two vital projects of the Chennai Port Trust (ChPT) in limbo. The affected projects are the Rs 3,686 crore mega container terminal and the Rs 415 crore integrated dry port and multi-modal logistics hub near Sriperumbudur.
The stalling of Sethusamudram project by this regime has hampered the development of Tuticorin port and nine more minor ports and industrial development of southern districts.
The captains of industry in the country need no lectures on the vital need of ports and road infrastructure for the development of industry and trade. Chennai and Tuticorin are the only two major ports in Tamil Nadu and the development of both of them have been hindered by this reckless regime of Jayalalitha. While DMK, a political party conscious of the progress and development of the State, had been agitating against the wanton obstruction caused by this regime for the development of these ports and other infrastructure projects, it is most regrettable that the ‘most powerful’ bodies of Indian industry, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India (ASSOCHAM) and the high profile business dailies and journal were remaining as silent spectators of this senseless liquidation of industry in this part of the country. Will they wake up?
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