PWD to upgrade 338 roads; CRIP roads in list

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: PWD has taken over the charge of upgradation of the roads under the City Corporation. PWD officials have identified as many as 338 roads in Thiruvananthapuram for maintenance. Interestingly, some of the roads in the list are now under the Kerala State Road Fund Board (KRFB) as part of the City Road Improvement Project (CRIP). The list of roads selected by the PWD is raising serious questions as they are now being developed by the concessionaire Thiruvananthapuram Road Development Company Limited (TRDCL). While the TRDCL is responsible for the maintenance of these roads for the next 15 years, the inclusion of the CRIP roads in the PWD list has created confusion. The CRIP roads which have appeared in the PWD list are, the road from Connemara Market to Public Library; from Observatory to Nandavanam; the Pattom-Kowdiar Road; Rama Rao Lamp Junction to Palayam; Railway Station Junction to Bakery junction etc. The list shows the callous way the officials have identified the roads which need to be maintained.The PWD has earmarked an amount of ` 1,648 crore for the upgradation of roads in the state.The officials responsible for the CRIP roads said they do not have any idea about the list. “The roads in the list might be omitted later,” an official said. According to K K Narayanan, Assistant Executive Engineer, PWD, the ownership of the roads rests with the PWD, though they were handed over to the KRFB for 15 years. “After 15 years, the ownership will be returned to the PWD,” he said. According to him, the roads which were called Other District Roads will be upgraded to Major District Roads under this PWD project. Only the status of the CRIP Roads has changed to Major District Road and no further maintenance was intended, he added.Sources said PWD is planning to complete the works before the monsoon. The works are expected to last 5-6 months.