Parliament’s public accounts committee (PAC) chairman K.C. Venugopal visited the collapsed stretch of the elevated National Highway-66 at Kooriyad near Tirurangadi on Wednesday and expressed fears of possible irregularities in the design and construction of the highway.
“Kerala’s unique conditions were ignored while designing the road. Instances of revised detailed project reports (DPRs), enhanced estimates, and awarding of work to sub-contractors at low cost have come to our notice,” said Mr. Venugopal.
He said it was so bad that an ambitious project like the national highway had such a devastating effect on the State after a long wait. “We are getting complaints of cracks and failures from different parts of the State. Drainage was completely ignored at several places,” he said.
Mr. Venugopal said that the PAC would convene a meeting with senior officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the State Transport department on Thursday. “We will examine the complete details, including DPRs and designs. We will also examine the involvement of the State, which is the real stakeholder,” he said.
Mr. Venugopal blamed the NHAI for totally ignoring the people and their expertise in the State. “The State’s conditions and the knowledge of the people about it should have been taken into consideration while designing the highway,” he said.
The PAC will study the matter thoroughly and submit a report to Parliament, he added.
Published – May 28, 2025 09:45 pm IST
