KOCHI: The five corporations in Kerala together have accounted for an expenditure of Rs 534.47 crore under the Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project funded by the Asian Development Bank. The expenditure was incurred during a seven-year period from 2007 to 2015.
According to the information gathered under the RTI Act by Mr Thushar Nirmal Saradhy, the ADB aid was used by Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kochi, Thrissur and Kozhikode corporations. The funds were mainly used for sewerage treatment, community infrastructure in slums, bio-gas plants, water supply and distribution systems, water treatment plants, storm water drainage, road developments and other projects.
Some 145 projects were implemented using the funds in these corporations. “The question is the efficacy of the projects implemented and their utility for the people concerned,” Mr Saradhy said. According to the information, Rs 13.90 crore has been shown as expenditure for the upgradation of Edappally-High Court Junction road and '7.16 crore for upgradation of SA Road in Kochi.
“The people of Kochi can’t find any visible improvement in the conditions of these two roads for the past eight years. Whatever little improvement has taken place is also lost due to the ongoing work of the Kochi Metro project,” Mr Saradhy pointed out.
The policy-makers should be made answerable for spending such huge amounts without any regard for its sustainability as the entire amount has to be paid back to the ADB with interest, he said.
The repayment for ADB has already begun according to the RTI reply. As on January 1, 2016 the state government has repaid $ 9.4 million. The deadline for the completion of the repayment is January 1, 2030.
