Kerala high court slams Kochi corp for slow drain desilting efforts
Kochi: A high court bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran on Friday strongly criticised the Kochi corporation for the sluggish progress of pre-monsoon works, particularly desilting efforts, in Kochi city.
After perusing the status report filed by corporation's counsel, HC observed that in most areas, the desilting of drains remained incomplete. The report indicated that more than 50% of the work had been completed in only a few locations, while in most places the progress was limited to around 30%.
HC expressed strong displeasure, remarking that the corporation was wasting public funds by carrying out desilting during monsoon.
"Here, the magic happened — the money has also gone down the drain. Of course, it flows not into the Arabian Sea, but into somebody's pocket," the court said.
HC noted that although Rs 7.44 lakh had been estimated for desilting small drains in Vyttila, no work had been completed. Similarly, in Fort Kochi, only 20-40% of the work had been done. The bench reminded that these were public funds and reiterated that desilting should have been initiated in Jan or Feb and completed by May 15 at the latest.
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If the city floods during this monsoon, every officer responsible would be held accountable, it warned.
The court directed the corporation to execute the remaining work on a war footing and file an additional report by Thursday.
Meanwhile, the PWD's counsel informed HC that the footpath restoration work on MG Road would be completed by June 30. He also stated that the state govt might approve a proposal for full restoration at an estimated cost of Rs 14-15 crore and sought time for confirmation.
The court underscored the importance of restoring the MG Road footpath and made it clear that it would not countenance any excuse from the state or other stakeholders, including the plea of insufficient funds.
The counsel for Cochin Smart Mission Ltd (CSML) submitted that the restoration of tiles on the footpaths has been substantially completed and assured that the remaining work would be finished by the next posting date. The counsel added that in several locations, including near St Albert's College, tiles and bollards had been dislodged due to human interference. The court observed that once the restoration is completed, it would be the responsibility of the Kochi corporation to ensure their proper maintenance.
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