NHAI To Respond In HC Over Road Collapses Across Kerala

Kochi: The NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) will respond in the High Court today regarding the collapse of the national highway under construction at various locations. The court took up the national highway issue suo motu while hearing a case related to roads in Kochi. The court has directed NHAI to provide answers regarding how the road collapsed, who is responsible, and what the solution is. The case is being considered by the bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran.

Preparing an action plan

The National Highways Authority and the state government are preparing a joint action plan to resolve the waterlogging on the national highway. This effort comes in the wake of waterlogging caused by obstruction of water flow in many places after the construction of the national highway. The National Highways Authority's stance is that the cooperation of various departments is necessary to ensure smooth water flow.

The quality of construction of the national highway became a national discussion following the Kooriyad accident. Subsequently, with the heavy rains that followed, everyone realized the defects in the construction of the drains and the extent of the resulting waterlogging. Rainwater stagnated on and along the road in newly constructed areas as well as in areas where the existing road was widened to 45 meters. Following strong criticism against the National Highways Authority on this issue, the authority took the position that the fault was not solely theirs and informed the state government about it. The National Highway Authority officials informed the Chief Secretary in a meeting held the other day that not only the National Highways Authority, which constructs roads only 45 meters wide, but also various departments in the state government have the responsibility to ensure water flow. Following this, the Chief Secretary requested the submission of a proposal for a joint plan. National Highway Authority officials say that various departments, including local self-government, public works, and revenue, have the responsibility to ensure proper flow of water in the drains on both sides of the national highway. This also makes it clear that there was no consultation between the central and state agencies even on such basic matters beyond acquiring land and handing it over to the National Highways Authority. Media outlets, including Asianet News, had reported that in many places, drains were constructed without considering the flow of water or the structure of the land. With a significant portion of the monsoon season still remaining, it remains to be seen how quickly and to what extent the problem will be resolved.

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