Opening of tenders delayed for third time Thiruvananthapuram: The widening of Kazhakkoottam-Mukkola stretch of NH bypass still remains uncertain as the date of opening of tender gets delayed for the third time. This time, the national highway authority of India (NHAI) has extended the date for opening tender to February 17. The tender was originally published in October last. Though the sources in NHAI points to technical correction in tender as reason for the delay, it is learned that the dispute over felling of trees on the stretch that plays spoilsport. NHAI officials reinstated that there was some changes in the bid issued in engineering, procurement and construction mode. However, there has not been any concrete decision of number of trees which has to be felled for the project. As per assessment, around 6,000 trees have to be axed for widening the 26.5km stretch in 45 metres. The tree protection committee has requested NHAI to retain as many trees as possible on the stretch. However, NHAI is adamant on cutting all trees along the stretch. It is not possible to construct roads of NH standards by retaining the trees. The land acquisition of the stretch was completed almost four decades ago. The trees were grown after that, sources said. A forest department official said that a consensus is yet to be reached between the tree protection committee and NHAI. We are yet to arrive at a decision on the number of trees to be axed for the project. The NHAI, however, has stated that they could not compromise on cutting trees, forest officials said. NHAI has no interest in widening the road. They are trying to fool people by inviting tender. Environmentalists must realize that these kinds of projects are a necessity. I could see this protest of environmentalists as a publicity stunt, said V Sudhakaran, general secretary, Kazhakoottam-Karode road widening project. Times of India
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 06:32:32 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015