Kerala Assembly: Skywalk project not feasible for Kottayam town, says Transport Minister

Kerala Transport Minister deems proposed skywalk project in Kottayam town a waste of public funds

Completing the construction of a proposed skywalk in Kottayam town will amount to squandering public money again, Kerala Transport Minister K.B. Ganesh Kumar has said.

Replying to a Calling Attention motion raised by Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, MLA, in the Kerala Assembly on June 26, the Minister said the project was “not feasible” for the town on many counts. As per the revised estimate, the project would cost around ₹17.85 crore.

Moreover, the project has to be demolished in the future when the town will be subjected to further expansion, which is imperative considering the mushrooming number of vehicles in the town. In addition, more land had to be acquired for the project, and the district administration was not ready to provide an undertaking on who would carry out the maintenance of the project and bear the recurring expenses. The Kerala Road Safety Authority cannot be held responsible for its maintenance as it is not its mandate, the Minister said. 

He also hinted that the project was taken up “without enough foresight” and that “enough public money has been squandered” for it.

The skywalk project began when Mr. Radhakrishnan was the Transport Minister.

Mr. Radhakrishnan also invited the attention of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to salvage the project. In reply to his plea, the Minister said he is ready to hand over the file related to the project to the Chief Minister if he wishes to go through it.