Chennai: Municipal administration minister S.P. Velumani on Friday accused the previous DMK regime in Chennai corporation of constructing flyovers without any scientific study that led to traffic snarls.
It all started with DMK’s Saidapet MLA and former Chennai mayor M. Subramaniam, who initiated debate on the demands for the grants for municipal administration and water supply department, stating that it was the then Mayor and now the Leader of Opposition M.K. Stalin who proved that city corporation could also construct flyovers on its own funds. He wanted to know the new bridges planned and executed by the AIADMK government in the last five years.
Intervening in the debate, highways minister Edappadi K. Palanisamy listed out that names of the flyovers including Kaliamman Koil street, Velacherry, Pallavaram and Kolathur Retteri where construction work has already begun.
He charged that the previous DMK government had merely laid foundation stones for the flyover project even before completing land acquisition process and pointed to the case of Porur flyover work that remained stranded for several years.
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa pointed out from the policy note of the municipal administration department that during the last five years, Greater Chennai corporation has completed construction of five new over bridges, 10 minor bridges, three subways and improvements to the existing flyover or bridges in various locations at an estimated cost of Rs 114 crore including rail over bridge at Kathivakkam High Road-Cochrane Basin road constructed at a cost of Rs 16.66 crore.
However, Mr Subramaniam noted that ROB on Kathivakkam High road work was inaugurated by Stalin and he himself had inspected work progress over 10 times when he was mayor.
But, Mr Velumani, pointed out that the flyovers were constructed during the previous regime without any proper scientific study. He noted that two separate flyovers constructed on North Usman road and Usman road have led to heavy traffic snarls.
