Chennai: Preparing a fresh detailed project report (DPR) and inviting new tenders for the proposed elevated corridor between Thiruvanmiyur and Uthandi along the East Coast Road (ECR) was under consideration, said public works department (PWD) minister Aadhav Arjuna.He told reporters in Chennai on Friday that a committee examining the project, costing about ₹1,600 crore, is expected to submit its final report, after which govt will decide on the next course of action. The review is part of a wider effort to ensure that infrastructure projects are properly planned before tenders are floated and that contractors are held accountable for delays and poor-quality work.As part of this exercise, the govt is proposing to publish DPRs, maps and alignment details of road and bridge projects on the PWD and highways department websites before tendering. The public and technical experts will be given at least five days to raise objections and suggest changes, he said. The DPR will be revised, if necessary, before the tender process begins.The govt is also pursuing a proposed coastal link between Chennai, Mamallapuram and Puducherry, inspired by Mumbai’s sea-link infrastructure, Aadhav said. Preliminary discussions have taken place, with the project intended to improve passenger connectivity along the coast.Separately, the govt is preparing a ₹6,500-crore package covering around 2,300 road works across 234 constituencies, based on requests from MLAs and local requirements, he said.Aadhav said the govt was planning to introduce six-month milestones for projects with execution periods of 24 or 36 months. Contractors who fail to meet them could face cancellation of contracts, blacklisting and re-tendering of the remaining work. Road contractors will also be held responsible for quality for five years after completion, where specified in the contract. Work will be video-recorded, with road thickness checks and laboratory tests to monitor quality.The minister said only 45 of 150 projects announced by the previous govt were completed.PWD has also surveyed 5,626 govt schools and found 15,661 of around 30,000 toilets unusable, he said. A maintenance programme covering schools, hospitals and other public buildings is planned over the next one to two years, supported by an AI-based monitoring dashboard. He said TVK govt’s crackdown on systemic graft and structural reforms, have resulted in project costs dropping by up to 30%.“Today, tenders are fetching bids that are 25-30% below the estimated costs. Leakage is now plugged, and the saved money is returning directly to the govt treasury,” said Aadhav.—
