Kochi: The Kerala High Court has barred the demolition of the faulty Palarivattom flyover in Kochi till October 10.
The division bench led by acting Chief Justice C K Abdul Raheem passed the order while considering a few public interest litigations filed against the demolition. The pleas laid stress on the fact that the demolition was ordered without conducting a load test of the structure.
Two public interest litigations were taken up for consideration in the HC on Tuesday. The pleas stated that the bridge was not structurally weak and that load tests should be conducted.
They also said even the report of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), Madras, among others did not seek to demolish the bridge. However, the petitioners replied in the negative when the division bench asked if they were of the view that bridge was not structurally weak.
The Kerala government had apprised the court that the bridge was structurally weak and need to be demolished as it involved people's lives.
Last week the Kerala government had decided to demolish the flyover and raise a new one after considering the IIT reports.
The report had observed that the condition of the structure was so bad that rebuilding was the only option.
With complaints coming up against the decision to demolish the bridge, the court has asked the government to consider them and submit a report.
The petition would be considered again on October 10.
Sreedharan erred: Engineers' association
An engineers' association has also sought the government to back off from the decision to demolish the bridge.
The Association of Structural and Geotechnical Consulting Engineers said that concrete had the required quality, as per the available report. They also alleged that DMRC principal adviser E Sreedharan had erred while reporting that the bridge was structurally weak without even conducting the mandatory checks.
The engineers also contended that the government was going ahead with the demolition plan without finding out the exact reason as to why cracks were formed on the flyover.
The Palarivattom flyover was built as per the Indian Road Congress criteria. Good results were received in concrete testing. No faults were also found in the rebound hammer test conducted by the IIT on the piers and girders. The cracks on the girders are within the permitted limit. Therefore, the association demanded that any follow-up action be taken only after checking the load-bearing capacity of the bridge.
They also questioned Sreedharan's finding that maintenance works cannot rectify the issue. The engineers also asked the government to make public the Mahesh Tandon report which said that the bridge did not meet the required standards and the second report by the IIT that sought for the demolition.
The flyover in Kochi was completed and commissioned in October 2016. After cracks were detected on its pillars, the bridge was closed for traffic on May 1, 2019.
The government intends to recoup Rs 18 crore to build a new flyover from the construction company, RDS Projects, the contractor firm.
The Vigilance had arrested former Public Works Department (PWD) secretary T O Sooraj and three others over the alleged irregularities in the project.
Vigilance gets nod to quiz Sooraj
Meanwhile, the Vigilance court at Muvattupuzha has given permission to the probe team to interrogate T O Sooraj, the former Secretary of the Public Works Department (PWD), who was arrested by the Vigilance over the alleged irregularities in the flyover project.
The probe team can question him at the Muvattupuzha sub-jail, where he is lodged, from 10am to 1pm on Wednesday.
Meanwhile the High Court has asked the Vigilance to submit the case diary on the Palarivattom flyover scam. The HC asked for the case diary while considering the bail plea of Sooraj. He contended that since one phase of the probe has been completed, there was no need to continue keeping him in judicial custody.
The court reasoned it wanted to assess the progress into the probe.
However, the Vigilance informed the court that the probe was not over and that more accused had to be arrested.
The Vigilance said that since allegations have been raised against the former PWD Minister, the accused, including Sooraj, have to be questioned again. Therefore, the Vigilance asked the court not to grant him bail.
However, the court said that it would not intervene in the case or stall the investigation.
Sooraj, meanwhile, reiterated in his bail plea the allegations he had earlier raised. He claimed that he had merely implemented the government decision and asserted that he was not guilty of any wrong doing.
The former IAS officer had alleged that the former minister had given the nod to extend advance funds to the builders. The court asked the Vigilance to clarify whether as per the contract, it was permissible to give advance funds.
The court will again consider the petition on Friday.
