In a major win for the Kerala government, the Supreme Court has given permission to reconstruct the Palarivattom flyover. The bridge, which was constructed during the previous United Democratic Front government, had broken due to poor construction.
Earlier, the High Court had paused permission to demolish and reconstruct the flyover until a weight test was conducted. However, the state government had argued that even if the flyover was renovated, it cannot be used for more than 20 years as the construction quality was very poor.
The government had promised the court that if the renovations could continue, costing around Rs 18 crore, the bridge would last at least 100 years. The UDF government had spent Rs 39 crore on the construction that began to break down just months after the inauguration. At the time, VK Ebrahimkunju was the minister of the Public Works Department.
The Kerala Industrial and Technical Consultancy Organisation (KITCO) had approached the Supreme Court against the Kerala government’s move to demolish the bridge. KITCO argued that it cannot be demolished without conducting a weight test. However, IIT Madras had conducted a study that concluded that the weight test could not be conducted without the bridge renovation.
The state government argued that KITCO was trying to redirect the criminal procedures against its officers who are in judicial custody over the Palarivattom Flyover case. The government had said that the design and execution of the flyover, approved by KITCO, was faulty. The government also alleged conspiracy by KITCO, contractors and other higher officers.
A high-level technical committee comprising chief engineers and design experts constituted by the government had suggested the demolition and reconstruction of the bridge.
Chief advisor to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Dr E Sreedharan, who visited the flyover and checked reports, said that even after renovation, it cannot be traffic worthy for more than 20 years. As a result, the government argued that the only way possible is to reconstruct the bridge.
In the wake of poor construction Palarivattom flyover, the state government has also decided to amend the PWD manual, noting that poor workmanship will also be considered as a criteria to blacklist contractors.