Preparation of DPR for the vexatious semi ring road project runs into delay

The semi ring road project, which would connect four major national highways around Tiruchi, has run into delay as the National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) tender for preparation of detailed project report (DPR) has attracted only a single bid

The semi ring road project, which would connect four major national highways around Tiruchi, has run into delay as the National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) tender for preparation of detailed project report (DPR) has attracted only a single bid.

The NHAI floated a fresh tender a few days ago for the preparation of the DPR. The project includes the construction of an elevated corridor near the integrated bus stand coming up near Panjapur. December 5 is the last date for submission of bids.

A combined DPR is to be prepared for widening the two-lane bypass between Thuvakudi and Panjapur into a four-lane way and the building of a four-lane road between Panjapur and Thindukarai on Tiruchi-Karur National Highway, besides the elevated corridor.

Once completed, the road would become a part of a semi ring road from Thuvakudi to Thindukarai via Mathur and Panjapur, connecting the five national highways leading to Thanjavur, Karaikudi, Madurai, Dindigul, and Karur.

In July, the NHAI floated the first tender for preparing the DPR ending years of uncertainty over Panjapur-Thindukarai bypass. Work on this stretch was initiated 15 years ago as part of the widening of the Tiruchi-Karur section by the NHAI but was stopped in 2010 after the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court struck down as the proposed road was across Kothamangalam, Kallikudi, and Punganur irrigation tanks in Tiruchi district. The court ordered that the road be laid without affecting irrigation sources. Subsequently, a new alignment was finalised, which caused inordinate delay in reviving the project.

Earlier this year, the NHAI decided to make the entire bypass between Thuvakudi and Panjapur a four-lane highway, including the proposed elevated corridor.

With the process for preparing the DPR getting prolonged, the long awaited project could still be some months away from reaching the execution stage.