Fresh lifeline for stalled ₹157.5cr sewerage project; Dec restart likely

T’puram: A fresh lifeline appears to be in sight for the stalled Rs.157.5-crore sewerage project covering Attukal, Kalady and Ambalathara, with the city corporation moving to tap 16th Finance Commission funds and aiming to resume work in the first week of Dec.The corporation council approved the proposal on Saturday, opening a fresh funding route for the project that had come to a halt amid financial constraints. The proposal will now be placed before the district planning committee on Monday as part of the approval process.Corporation secretary Muhammad Shafi said all pending bills related to the project would be paid, including Rs 6 lakh required for obtaining road-cutting permission from the public works department (PWD). He said funding issues that had affected the progress of the project were being addressed.He added that the existing contractor could resume the work once the funding process was completed, and there would be no need to call a fresh tender, potentially avoiding further delays.The project had faced a major setback after the Rs 66.63-crore National Housing Bank (NHB) loan secured for it lapsed. The loan, availed in Sept 2024, lapsed in Feb 2026 after the required work-status report was not communicated to the NHB. The corporation came to know about the lapse only in July, adding to the uncertainty over the project’s funding.The funding crunch subsequently affected payments and the pace of work. The contractor had already mobilised labour and machinery, and around 1km of sewer pipeline work had been completed before the project was stalled. The corporation is now moving to clear pending payments and address other requirements, including the Rs 6 lakh PWD payment, before restarting the work.The two packages are now estimated at Rs166.5 crore and Rs 22 crore.The proposed Dec restart is particularly significant for Attukal ahead of next year’s Attukal Pongala. Timely completion of the pipeline works and restoration of excavated roads will be crucial for traffic movement and access to the temple area when lakhs of devotees converge on the locality.Stay updated with the latest Thiruvananthapuram news. Download the TOI App.