PWD Minister P.K. Basheer laments slow pace of NH works in Keralam

Only about 70% of the works on NH 66 in the State have been completed so far and despite two meetings with Union Minister for Surface Transport Nitin Gadkari, works have not picked up speed, PWD Minister P.K. Basheer said in the House on Tuesday.

Mr. Basheer said there were several issues affecting the progress of the NH 66 works, including the fact that the contractors in charge of the works had no idea about the peculiarities of the State. Most contractors had not even seen the State or the nature of work here and they seldom visited the worksite or attended the meetings called.

It is possible that the NH works may not be completed by 2027-28 either, the Minister said

He was replying to a calling attention motion moved by K.N. Balagopal on the expedite the NH 66 works in the State from Parassala till Kasaragod and the safety issues on the road due to incomplete road works. Mr. Balagopal also pointed out that the State needed to prioritise MC Road works and complete it.

The Minister said the government had allocated funds for the repair works on the Thiruvananthapuram- Chengannur, Kottayam-Angamali, and Kazhakuttam-Adoor stretch of MC Road. Land acquisition was on and the Kottarakara bypass work was being speeded up, for which administrative sanction for ₹254.81 crore had been issued.

He said that a meeting of MPs and MLAs would be convened soon to discuss the development of MC Road.