Published 13:54 IST, September 23rd 2020
Palarivattom: Supreme Court orders demolition and reconstruction 42 crore flyover
Supreme Court on Tuesday accepted state government plea to demolish and restructure the badly built Palarivattom flyover in Kochi on National Highway 66 bypass
The Supreme Court on Tuesday accepted the state government's plea to demolish and restructure the badly built Palarivattom flyover in Kochi on National Highway 66 bypass. The bench led by Justice R F Nariman quashed the earlier Kerala High Court order to conduct a load test before demolishing the structure.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the partial demolition and reconstruction work would commence in October first week and the aim was to complete it in one year, after discussions with Metroman Sreedharan and Public Works Minister G Sudhakaran.
“The government will take all measures to complete the flyover construction quickly,” said Vijayan. He also added that the vigilance case against then PWD minister Ebrahim Kunju was in the final stage and a charge sheet would be submitted soon.
The Palarivattom flyover which was inaugurated on October 12, 2016, was closed for traffic on May 1, 2019, after cracks began to develop in the structure. The structure was built by Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala Limited, a subsidiary of the PWD. KITCO was the design and technical consultant and New Delhi-based contracting firm RDS Projects Ltd. executed the work. Former PWD secretary T.O. Sooraj IAS, Sumit Goyal, managing director of RDS Projects, contractor of flyover work, and M.T. Thankachan assistant general manager Roads and Bridges Development Corporation Kerala (RBDCK) were accused in the case.
Meanwhile, Metroman Sreedharan, who conducted a detailed inspection of the Rs 42-crore flyover had submitted a report to the state government on July 4, 2019, on its structural stability, ruling out total demolition and recommending only partial reconstruction to restore it. The state government is expecting an additional cost of Rs 18 crore for the flyover’s partial reconstruction.
'WITHOUT A LOAD TEST, ACCUSED COULD ESCAPE SCOT-FREE'
A senior government construction contractor based in Kozhikode, requesting anonymity, while reacting to the situation told Republic TV the new order of not having a load test could become a loophole for the accused in the case to escape conviction.
"Load test is the ultimate test to conclude whether a structure can stand. All other expert reports are less likely to be strong evidence in the court of Law "he said. He also said Sooraj is highly influential in the political circles in Kerala and
'THE ACCUSED AND STRING OF CORRUPTION'
To Sooraj IAS is not new to corruption and controversy. An unconfirmed report also suggests that he changed his name from Siraj to Sooraj. The former collector of Kozhikode in 2002, The Judicial Commission that probed the infamous Maradu riots in 2003 held Sooraj responsible for the civil administration’s failure in taking action to prevent the massacre. However, the UDF government did not initiate any action against him. 9 people lost their lives in the riot, of which 8 were Hindus in the riots that broke out on May 2, 2003.
"He changed his name to give a Hindu character so that his real religious identity stays hidden. It certainly helped him during the riot in Kozhikode," said a member of Hindu Aikya Vedi in Kozhikode.
In 2014, VACB Special Cell filed a case against Sooraj in a disproportionate wealth amassment case. Former DGP Jacob Thomas led probe revealed that he had amassed assets which were 314 per cent more than his known sources of income.
Updated 13:54 IST, September 23rd 2020