Kerala to set up company for road construction

The State Government intends to set up a company that will deal with construction of roads, according to Mr V. K. Ebrahim Kunju, Minister for Public Works.

The State Government will have a 51 per cent stake in the company and the rest will be held by the Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB), he said in the State Assembly.

The KRFB was constituted by the State Government to mobilise, deploy, and manage funds on its behalf to facilitate development of logistical infrastructure.

NEW COMPANY

The new company is expected to take up road development projects worth Rs 5,100 crore in investments, the Minister said.

It has been decided to reconstruct and develop 1,000-km length of road comprising State highways and major district roads to international standards.

A special purpose vehicle will be formed for the purpose, the Minister said. A budgetary allocation of Rs 1,000 crore has been made for land acquisition under the programme.

A sum of Rs 2,000 crore will be raised as long-term assistance from Asian Development Bank (ADB) and other financial institutions.

ADB ASSISTANCE

Administrative sanction has been granted for works worth Rs 1,366 crore. A detailed project report has been submitted to the Centre for securing the ADB assistance.

Wilbur Smith Associates, a Bangalore-based company, has been entrusted with the task of identifying specific roads to be taken up as part of the programme.

The second phase of the World Bank-aided Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP) for developing 387 km roads will commence on getting the required clearances. The Express Highway proposal will be taken up only after evolving a consensus, Mr Kunju informed the House.

Special cells headed by tehsildars have been formed in taluk offices to deal with revenue resurvey complaints, the Revenue Minister, Mr Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, said.

The Minister said resurvey has been completed in 766 of the 1,632 villages. Steps have been taken to expedite the resurvey in the remaining villages.

The number of complaints about resurvey has come down from 19 lakh to 89,824. Resurvey adalats will be conducted to take care of the complaints.

A new system has been proposed to deal with complaints with regard to fair value fixation. The Government was also examining the proposal to set up a land utility bank.

TOURISM COUNCILS

The Tourism Minister, Mr A. P. Anilkumar, announced in the House that Destination Management Councils will be reconstituted soon.

The first phase of the Ramakkal tourism project has been completed. The second phase will be taken up only on getting required land. M

The Minister for Panchayats and Social Welfare, Dr M. K. Muneer, said a Property Tax Board has been constituted to address anomalies in the assessment of building tax.

The State will get Rs 251 crore as performance grant in 2014-15 for setting up the board as recommended by the 13th Finance Commission.

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