Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 14 Keralam Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Wednesday said delays in implementing development projects were draining the state exchequer, as costs escalated over the years.
He said the government was seriously looking into the issue and considering framing a proper protocol for project implementation.
Satheesan was responding to a submission in the Assembly by former state minister G R Anil regarding delays in implementing the Kaniyapuram Railway Over Bridge project.
The CM said the project was included in the 2018-19 Budget, around the time the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) was established.
“But its Detailed Project Report (DPR) was submitted only on June 30, 2025, after seven years. This is an unnecessary delay,” he said, adding that a similar delay had occurred with a project he had proposed around the same time.
Satheesan said all the formalities required to launch such projects could be completed within a year.
“If that is done, the project would cost half as much as it would now to complete,” he said.
He said delays in completing official formalities, such as land acquisition, meant that projects took seven to 10 years to complete.
“This leads to the leakage of crores of rupees from the exchequer. Project implementation is emptying our treasury,” the CM said.
While assuring the House that the project highlighted by Anil would be taken up expeditiously, Satheesan said that development works in Keralam often took seven to 10 years to complete, even when they could be finished in two years.
“By then, a project that cost around Rs 100 crore ends up costing Rs 1,000 crore, and there is no accountability,” he said.
“The government is taking this issue seriously and is considering putting in place a proper protocol for project implementation,” Satheesan said.
The Kaniyapuram Railway Over Bridge (ROB) is a major infrastructure project in Thiruvananthapuram district.
The bridge is designed to be 547.7 metres long and 10.2 metres wide, with five-metre-wide service roads on either side. It has received administrative sanction for Rs 48.74 crore, Anil told the Assembly.
However, the land acquisition process has not progressed due to a lack of contingency funds from KIIFB, delaying the project, he said.
(PTI News)
