Kerala has urged the Centre to take serious action against the toll collecting agency of the Paliyekkara toll plaza in the Edappally-Mannuthy reach of National Highway 544 in the wake of the CBI registering a case against the company charging it with a financial fraud of ₹102.44 crore. He demanded that a criminal case be initiated against the agency for breach of contract.
In a letter to Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways on Tuesday, G. Sudhakaran, Minister for Public Works, said the activities of the agency were against the provisions of the agreement to which the State was also a party. “So, the government of India should take serious action and also initiate a criminal case against it for breach of contract. I have discussed this issue with the Chief Minister of Kerala and he directed me to communicate this issue,” Mr. Sudhakaran said.
The construction of the Mannuthy-Walayar reach including the “Kuthiran tunnel” had been stalled for more than one year. Unfortunately, the National Highway Authority of India officials and the contractor had failed to keep their word. The Minister said immediate steps should be taken to terminate the contract and legal action initiated against the company for breach of contract.
The project for constructing the Kozhikode Bypass on National Highway 66 was awarded to the same company. It had executed an agreement with NHAI but failed to produce a financial document. Now the project has been stalled. “NHAI should take steps to cancel the agreement and re-tender the project”, the Minister said in the letter.
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