Errors, mismanagement and more; Details behind collapse of Kooriyad highway

The Public Accounts Committee blamed the error in the design stage for the collapse of some parts of the National Highway in Kerala. The PAC, in its report submitted to the Lok Sabha, pointed out the failure of the National Highways Authority in preparing the design and following the construction in accordance with the soil. The CAG has also been asked to conduct an audit to examine these irregularities. The committee, chaired by K.C. Venugopal, has also suggested that the authority should not allow the contractor-subcontractor pair to take shortcuts to reduce costs. The collapse of the Malappuram-Kooriyad National Highway had led to major protests and criticism from the public in Kerala. The National Highways Authority admitted to the PAC that the collapse of the Kooriyad National Highway was due to the lapses on the part of the contractor and the engineer.

The accident was caused by a lapse in assessing the nature of the soil and the flow of water. After the accident, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari intervened in the matter, suspended the engineer for his costly lapse, and assured that the road would be reconstructed flawlessly at the contractor's expense. After the lapse became clear, the government banned the contractors KNR Constructions and the consultant company 'Highway Engineering'. It was also stipulated that neither company would be able to participate in future contracts. After the Kooriyad incident, frequent collapses of small and large scale at many other places had cast doubt on the entire construction of the national highway.

When the road was built by raising the soil in the areas where the fields passed, the foundation was done without the required width. The space required for this should have been calculated at the time of the land acquisition. It was not done. That is what led the PAC to point out a mistake in the stage of design preparation. Similarly, the pace of national highway construction is still slow in the southern districts of Kerala. It is not expected that construction will be completed in Kollam, Alappuzha, and Thiruvananthapuram districts by the end of next year. The difficulties faced by the people due to the delay in construction are tormenting and insufferable. The PAC report was prepared based on a detailed study and discussions conducted by the committee for six months, including the shortcomings in the construction of national highways in Kerala. The committee also submitted some very important suggestions.

The most important recommendation is to stop toll collection on roads that are not commuter-friendly. Contrary to this suggestion, toll collection continues unhindered in many places in Kerala. Another recommendation is to strictly control the award of subcontracts and make registration mandatory for subcontractors. The PAC report also states that out of the contracts worth Rs 1800 crore, 900 crores were subcontracted, and the remaining amount has not been spent on the project. An audit by the Public Accounts Committee is required to find out the true status of this rumour. The recommendation that another party should monitor the activities of the National Highways Authority should also be considered.