Central fund utilisation is State’s discretion, says Riyas

Elamaramkadvu bridge connecting Kozhikode and Malappuram districts opened

It is up to the State government to decide how the Central Road Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) is used, Minister for Public Works P.A. Mohamed Riyas has said.

He was speaking after opening a newly built bridge connecting Kozhikode and Malappuram districts at Elamaramkadavu near Mavoor on Monday evening. The Minister was responding to charges levelled by the BJP that Union Ministers were not invited to the event, though the bridge was built using Central funds. The Kozhikode district committee of the BJP had held a symbolic inauguration of the bridge on Sunday to register their protest.

The bridge connecting Mavoor grama panchayat in Kozhikode district and Elamaram in Vazhakkad grama panchayat in Malappuram is built across the Chaliyar river. This will help residents of places such as Elamaram, Areekkod, and Kondotty in Malappuram to easily reach the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, and the National Institute of Technology-Calicut in Kozhikode district as well as Wayanad district. Those from places such as Kunnamangalam and Thamarassery in Kozhikode district and residents of Wayand can now connect to the Calicut International Airport and places in Malappuram and Palakkad districts as well.

A sum of ₹35 crore under the CRIF has been spent on the construction. There are 10 spans. The bridge is is 11 metres wide and 350 metres long. Footpaths are 1.75 metres wide. The design has been altered keeping in mind the possibility of floods in the Chaliyar. There are approach roads connecting the bridge with Edavannapara, and Elamaram Junction with Valillapuzha on the one side, and the bridge with Mavoor on the other.

Mr. Riyas said the controversy over the inaugural event was unnecessary. Money from the CRIF was allocated in 2016 soon after the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government came to power. As many as 104 projects had been completed using the funds. A sum of ₹2,143.54 crore had been spent. Of the ₹1,343.83 crore allocated by the Centre, ₹599.71 was yet to be released. Mr. Riyas claimed that the State government was taking along every one while launching development works.

He pointed out that all procedures had been followed before opening the bridge. The Centre was informed about the inaugural event. The ongoing widening of the national highway between Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram would be completed by 2025, he added.