Minister for Public Works P.A. Mohamed Riyas has taken a jab at Union Ministers who visit the State for failing to take corrective measures to address the pathetic condition of National Highways here. Responding to questions in the Assembly on Wednesday, he said that though the issue was raised with a Union Minister several times, no steps have been taken to carry out maintenance work on the roads.
"Lot of Union Ministers visit Kerala. They post photographs of projects which are nearing completion. They should also spend some time in counting the number of potholes in the National Highway stretches in the State. There is a Union Minister who holds daily press conferences. The National Highways have more potholes than the number of his press conferences," said Mr.Riyas.
He said that out of the 1,781 kilometres of National Highway Roads passing through Kerala, as much as 1,233 kilometres of roads are being maintained by the National Highway. The Union Government should be more proactive in carrying out maintenance work. The National Highway development in the State had reached a standstill and the project was close to be abandoned when the LDF Government took charge in 2016. The State Government then decided to provide 25% of funds for land acquisition of NHs. This is something no other State has done. Kerala has till now spent ₹5580 crore on land acquisition for NH expansion, with 98% of acquisition being completed now, he said.
Opposition Leader V.D.Satheesan, while acknowledging the progress made in the NH expansion projects in Kerala, said that the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act implemented by the UPA Government in 2013 has enabled the current pace in land acquisition. The Opposition in the State has also co-operated with the project. He also said that it was not right on the part of the Minister to speak in a provocative language.
Mr. Riyas hit back that only the BJP-led Union Government would be provoked by his statements. “I do not understand why anyone else would be provoked by these statements,” he said.
Later in the day, Union Minister V. Muraleedharan hit back at Mr.Riyas saying that he should first count the potholes in the PWD roads before counting the ones in the National Highway.
