Public funds cannot be wasted on projects like Kottayam Skywalk: Ganesh Kumar

Thiruvananthapuram: Transport Minister Ganesh Kumar on Wednesday informed the Assembly that the construction of the Kottayam Skywalk cannot be carried out as he believed the project would be a waste of public funds. He said the project, which was initially estimated to cost Rs 5 crore, will now require over Rs 17.82 crore to be completed. "The cost will go up if land has to be acquired. Even if the skywalk is built spending so much money, it would have to be demolished for other future development projects in Kottayam," said Ganesh.

He said in such a situation, it was not possible to proceed with the construction of the skywalk using the funds of the Road Safety Authority. The minister was responding to Congress MLA Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan's demand that the construction of the skywalk is completed at the earliest. "When Thiruvanchoor was the forest minister, he ruthlessly binned a project I had submitted before his department. Please do not think this is my revenge for that rejection," quipped Ganesh.

He further said the contract for the skywalk was given to KITCO on the instructions of the then minister in violation of the law to award such constructions to Roads and Bridges Corporation. "I wondered what was this structure in the middle of Kottayam town. I thought it was a sculpture by some artist exhibiting at Kochi Biennale who did it as a personal favour for the MLA. It was only after I took charge as minister that I found out it was a skywalk," he said.

"Someone had approached the High Court seeking to demolish the structure. However, then district collector submitted a report stating that private land would not have to be acquired for the project. It was said the land for the skywalk would be free. However, the current scenario is that crores of rupees will be needed to acquire land and the Road Safety Authority does not have the power to purchase land for the project," said the minister.

According to IIT Palakkad, the proposed skywalk is not scientifically sound. They pointed out that the foundation of the structure was inadequate and the possibility of strengthening the structure should be explored. "The same was submitted to the court. NATPAC said the structure would require six lifts and three staircases. As per the new estimate prepared including the modifications, the project would now cost Rs 17.85 crore," said Ganesh.

Meanwhile, a Vigilance probe was held into the irregularities in KITCO. The agency stated there were mistakes in the structure's engineering and that the amount should be recovered from the officials responsible.

A questionnaire was given to the collector, including asking for details on further maintenance and acquisition of land. The collector clarified that land cannot be acquired for the skywalk. "If the structure is built without acquiring land, it will have to be demolished as part of further development in Kottayam in the future. So, even if it is completed using Rs 17 crore, it would have to be taken down later," said Ganesh.

Thiruvanchoor said it was decided to build a skywalk based on a National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC) study to avoid traffic snarl-ups in Kottayam. "The government sanctioned and inaugurated all skywalks built around the same time, except for the Kottayam skywalk. Even the chief minister must have wondered why the structure was standing incomplete when passing it," said Thiruvanchoor, adding the chief minister must intervene and ensure the completion of the project.