Chennai: It has been two years past the March 2014 deadline of the Chennai-Tada highway project and so far 55.6 percent of the project is complete.
NHAI sources say that until a pending court case between NHAI and L&T comes to a conclusion, the incomplete project will not see an end. “It has been almost two years since the Thatchur Koot Road bridge has been constructed but it has not been opened for commuters. We are forced to use the service road, the toll for which is being collected but is poorly maintained,” said S. Ramachandran, a builder based in Chennai.
NHAI officials, on the other hand, say that they were pushing for competition of the project but L&T gave a termination notice. “The issue of land acquisition is still pending due to which L&T wasn’t able to complete the work. The case is pending in Delhi HC,” said an NHAI official. “The hearing will be in May, after which we will decide whether L&T will continue the work or we will hand the project over to a new company,” he added.
As part of the six-laning of the 43.4 km length of Chennai–Tada section on NH5, which began at an initial cost of '418 crore, one major bridge, nine minor bridges, six flyovers, one overpass, and 20 underpasses have to be constructed. Of all these, a major chunk of the work is pending.
“Red Hills is an area that has a large share of godowns and businesses. It is essential to get proper road services in this area, which is currently not there,” said M.S. Lokesh, owner of a godown in Red Hills.
The toll plaza, which is ready, has been collecting toll but according to commuters, there is no maintenance of the roads. “Even near the Karanodai bridge, the approach roads are not in a good condition, and not lit properly. There have been several accidents involving two-wheelers there,” added Ramachandran.
According to the NHAI official, land acquisition has not taken place as per the requirement of the project, which caused a major share of the delay, and thus, work on structures has been left midway. Officials from L&T were not willing to comment on the issue.
