After failing to find any bidder twice before since it was conceived nearly six years ago, e-yatra, the ₹26-crore World Bank-funded project aimed at comprehensive traffic reforms along the highly accident-prone Vypeen-Munambam State highway, is about to be tendered yet again.
The proposal is either to float two tenders by splitting the various components of the project considering that it had no takers previously when tendered as a whole or to directly assign some components to government agencies like Keltron and invite bids for the rest of the work as a single tender.
The project, the brainchild of Vypeen MLA S. Sarma, evolved during the fag end of the previous government’s term after much blood was split and lives were lost along the State highway, as traffic increased manyfold with the commissioning of the Vallarpadam Container Transshipment Terminal and the Petronet LNG Terminal. However, it has been on the back burner since then.
E-yatra was drawn up at a workshop of officials of the Public Works Department (PWD) and the Transport Department, people’s representatives, political party representatives, and prominent civilian personalities. Prior to the formulation of the project, the Transport Department had undertaken a traffic survey, which was also taken into account while drawing up the proposal.
Initially, the estimated project cost stood at ₹33.81 crore, with the PWD to undertake work worth ₹26.21 crore and the Motor Vehicles Department ₹7.60 crore worth of work. “Later, the project cost was reworked, with the World Bank stepping in and to avoid duplication of work,” said Mr. Sarma’s office sources.
Among the project proposals were widening of the highway at all possible spots, walkways complete with iron railings, foot overbridges, road markings, exclusive road crossing zones, mounting of surveillance cameras at all important junctions, signals, flyovers at busy junctions, and bus bays. “These works will now either be split and floated as two tenders or works like surveillance cameras and signals will be assigned to Keltron considering it as a recognised government agency with expertise” said sources.
The project had the in-principle approval of both Public Works and Transport departments in the previous government, and it was decided to execute the project in a phased manner. But despite enough funds available for road safety work, no allocation was made for the project.
Once the Left Democratic Front government came to power, Mr. Sarma wrote to Transport Minister A.K. Saseendran who convened a meeting in the presence of then Transport Commissioner Tomin J. Thachankary. While the meeting gave the go-ahead for the project, it did not materialise, and the change of guard at the Transport Commissionerate further delayed it.
Meanwhile, road surfacing using BMBC method and construction of three cross canals as a solution to waterlogging along the State highway using the budgetary allocation of ₹10 crore is under way. The vast stretches of the road are in bad shape and traversing the narrow highway is even more nightmarish.
