Flyover opening misses 3 deadlines in Kolkata
For the past six years of its construction, only 67 per cent of the work has been completed of the Vivekananda Road flyover and the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) is unsure about when the flyover will be opened to the public. The agency has already missed three deadlines.
This, interesting news is coming at a time when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is pulling up officials from various departments for not completing projects on time. Strangely, no senior KMDA official has yet been pulled up for this delay. Senior officials of the Urban development department have said that the authorities are complacent and no step has been taken to expedite completion of the project.
The delay will lead to a cost escalation by at least 55 per cent and details about where the additional money will come from is yet unknown. This is a JNNURM project and deadlines for all the ongoing JNNURM projects are coming to an end in March. However, senior KMDA officials admitted that work is being carried out at “snail’s speed.”
The erstwhile Left Front government had decided to construct a 2.2 km flyover at an estimated cost of Rs 164 crore to ease traffic congestion in and around Burrabazar and for faster and better movement of Howrah bound vehicles from north Kolkata and the northern suburbs. The Central Government’s, Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM) scheme was tapped for funds. Construction began in March 2009 and deadline for the inauguration was August 2011. By then the Trinamul Congress led government came to power and problems that had cropped up with local stall owners were sorted. Miss Banerjee had personally intervened and asked the local Trinamul Congress leaders to cooperate with the KMDA. The next deadline was fixed for March 2012 and again later for December 2013.
Source: The Statesman
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