TRDCL allowed to continue maintenance of CRIP roads

Thiruvananthapuram: The crisis over maintenance of the roads developed under city roads improvement project (CRIP) has been resolved after it was decided to allow Thiruvananthapuram Road Development Company Ltd (TRDCL) to continue with the task of road upkeep. The public works department (PWD) officials had held a meeting with the company last week in this regard.
As per contract, TRDCL was responsible for development and maintenance of 42-km road under CRIP. However, the financial issues of the parent company IL & FS had put PWD in a catch-22 situation, whether to terminate the contract or allow the company to do maintenance.

Sources in PWD said the meeting with TRDCL was fruitful as the company agreed to complete all pending resurfacing works. It had also informed that the financial issues of the parent firm would not affect its contractual obligations. As per the contract, the state government could not unilaterally terminate the contract or such move would end up in the payment of heavy sum as compensation to the firm.

The CRIP was implemented under BOT-annuity mode with half yearly annuity of Rs 17.749 crore. Last year, comptroller and auditor general (CAG) had criticized Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB), the facilitator of the project, for not invoking penal provisions against TRDCL for failing to do the maintenance as per agreement.

So far, the KRFB has paid Rs 181.4 crore as annuity payment. TRDCL had also succeeded in winning an arbitration case against PWD for delay in handing over encumbrance free land for construction. The government had to pay Rs 124.95 crore as arbitration award to TRDCL.

Sources said that the PWD had withheld annuity payment of TRDCL after independent engineer of the project filed report that the roads were not maintained as per agreement conditions. Bump integrator (BI) test conducted in December 2016 and January 2017 found that it fell below the prescribed acceptable roughness value. A third party BI test conducted later confirmed the evaluations. Though TRDCL was directed to take rectification measures, it failed to do resurfacing works citing pending dues.

The project could not be completed as per the agreed period of 32 month due to various hurdles, including delay in handing over encumbrance free land. The project was carried out in four phases and commercial operation stated in January 2008, February 2012, February 2015 and May 2016.