Candidates urged to clarify stand on road development
Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu Road Action Committee seeks details of measures taken to remove hurdles in acquiring remaining land for the project announced in the 2008 Budget
The MananchiraVellimadukunnu Road Action Committee has asked the Public Works Minister and local MLAs to explain why the tender proceedings for the road development have not begun yet, despite the assurance that the works will be completed in 2024. The committee has also urged United Democratic Front (UDF), Left Democratic Front (LDF), and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidates for the Lok Sabha polls to clarify their stand on the project, the delay in carrying it out and the alleged negligence of the authorities towards the project.
A meeting of the committee chaired by historian M.G.S. Narayanan on Friday asked the authorities what measures were taken to remove the hurdles to acquire the remaining few cents of project. land for
Unfulfilled promise
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The MananchiraVellimadukunnu road project was announced in the State Budget in 2008, but it took a lot of pressure and protest from the part of the committee for the then UDF government to start the land acquisition process. The LDF government that followed promised the locals that the works would be completed during its tenure, but it has not progressed much even when the LDF government is in its second term.
The funds for the project were sanctioned in various instalments. “It is a common practice for the governments to sanction funds when the elections approach and then not release them after the election. Hence the project was delayed for 16 years,” said M.P. Vasudevan, general secretary of the Committee. The smaller roads in and around were developed, but this road was grossly neglected despite being one of the major highways in the city, he added.
Meanwhile, the committee has threatened to go for intense protest measures if the project is delayed further.