Red tape ties up projects

Chennai: Call it the height of red tape as more than dozen projects aimed at decongesting greater Chennai remain only on paper. Projects like satellite intercity bus terminus at Madhavaram, Vandalur mofussil bus terminal, and three bridge projects are yet to take off. The irony is that a couple of these projects like satellite intercity terminus at Madhavaram and new flyovers were announced in the state and corporation budgets and yet to take off.

“Chennai corporation, state highways and Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority are sitting over key projects announced in the last year’s corporation budget and in the state policy note, 2014,” alleged former Chennai mayor M. Subramanian. Three flyovers at Porur, Korrukupet and Moolakadai are progressing at snail’s pace and the government is clueless about the completion dates. In the case of new projects like T Nagar Usman road interlinking and new bus terminal projects, the process is yet to reach the tender process, he added.

According to CMDA sources, the proposed eight-acre satellite intercity bus terminus at Madhavaram is supposed to come up within the Madhavaram bus and truck terminal, but the appointed consultant for the project is yet to submit the detailed report. Another project of creating a bus terminal at Vandalur too had also run into land acquisition issues.
 

The Vandalur terminal sanctioned at a cost of Rs376 crore was to cater to the south bound buses. “In Vandalur, we have land acquisition issues due to new act. (Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (TN Amendment) Act, 2014 and that is delaying CMDA to acquire the required 65.30 acres of kland delaying project”, a senior CMDA official said.
 The case of Chennai corporation is worse. The civic body has had hardly proposed or completed a new flyover in the past three years. The situation is such that the residents of Korrukupet in north Chennai have formed a struggle committee demanding early completion of a flyover and would stage a demonstration on Tuesday.

 “Irked over the in ordinate delay of Korrukupet bridge, the local residents will stage a demonstration at Chennai collectorate seeking early completion of the flyover pending since 2008,” said E. Sadayandi, convenor, Korrukupet people struggle committee. After seven years, only 70 per cent of the project is complete and authorities hardly care about our complaints, Sadayandi, alleged.

 When contacted, a senior corporation official said the Korrukupet flyover got delayed due to land acquisition and legal disputes. In three months time the Rs16.66 crore project will be completed and the new flyover would decongest north Chennai. Regarding the delay of Villivakkam LC 1 road overbridge, the official said that the civic body was waiting for ICF to provide five grounds of railway land required for the project. If the land is granted, we will go ahead with the bridge works shortly,” the corporation official added.