Chennai: Port-Maduravoyal Expressway Corridor Project Halted Again, Details Inside – News18

The stalled Chennai port to Maduravoyal elevated expressway project, which was initiated in 2009, began construction in January this year.

But, as per recent developments, the construction work has been put to a halt again.

According to TOI, the National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) Rs 5,885-crore port-expressway corridor is in trouble after the Tamil Nadu Water Resources Department (TN WRD) directed the central agency to halt ongoing Cooum river work. They also The National Green Tribunal is now reviewing the project, which has already faced a decade of delays. The next hearing is set for July 26.filed complaints in at least four police stations around the city. In addition, a case is underway before the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

The project came under fire after NHAI began dumping rubble into the Cooum River to create access for its rig machinery. As per studies, if Cooum’s flow is restricted in this manner, hitherto untouched neighbourhoods in Chennai may also be flooded during the monsoon.

On May 28, WRD authorities, led by its chief engineer, met with NHAI officials, requesting a formal commitment from the highway body to restore the river after construction, collaborate in flood response, redress damages and protect public safety. “The project has been stopped now. Only after the NHAI provides an undertaking in a ‘bond’ can the project proceed. They have agreed to give the undertaking in two days,” WRD chief engineer S Ashokan told The Times of India.

According to Ashokan, NHAI must fund the whole cost of implementing flood response recommendations from Anna University’s Centre for Water Resources, as well as restore the river to its former width to compensate for the pillars’ area used. “They have agreed to all the conditions,” he added. The water resource department also filed police complaints against NHAI at several stations within the 20.9-kilometre corridor jurisdiction.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) is currently reviewing the expressway project, which has already been delayed by a decade and the next hearing on this matter is scheduled for July 26.