Kochi: The City Corporation council which has been sitting on the proposal to give road cutting permission for the City Gas project will soon clear it as the State government has recently revised the rate for road restoration works.
The Corporation was reluctant to clear the request for road cutting submitted by Indian Oil Adani Gas Private Limited citing lower road restoration rates. The request for road cutting was discussed several times in the council but has not been cleared.
“The Public Works Department chief engineer has issued an order on May 22 revising road restoration charges. As per the new rates, the restoration charge for BMBC (bitumen concrete and bitumen macadam) roads is '5396 per metre square and for 40 mm chipping carpet road, the rate is '5021. Though the restoration rate for BMBC road is still lesser than the Corporation rate of '5930 per metre square, the civic body can now clear the road cutting as it will not cause a financial loss to the civic body,” Mayor Soumini Jain told DC.
“Similarly, rates for other roads also have been revised. With this, all civic bodies have to follow the rate,” she added.
However, the road cutting proposal pending with the Corporation has to be changed to reflect the revised rates.
Earlier, an all-party delegation from the Corporation met the Chief Minister seeking revision of the restoration rate fixed by the government for road digging, but he had turned down the demand and instructed the local body to comply with the government rates.
More than 890 kilometres of city road has to be cut at a width of 1.5 metre and 6 feet depth for the project which will completely damage the road.
