T’puram: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has warned the RDS Projects Ltd, the main contractor executing the 29km Kazhakkoottam-Kadampattukonam stretch of NH 66 in the district, to terminate the contract over the prolonged delay in construction. As part of it, NHAI served a cure period notice to the project head of RDS Projects seven days ago, seeking an explanation for the failure to maintain the stipulated pace of work and directing the contractor to rectify the deficiencies.A cure period notice is essentially an opportunity given to the contractor to explain the reasons for its failure to meet contractual obligations and rectify the deficiencies. If the explanation is not found satisfactory, NHAI is expected to serve a termination notice and proceed with termination of the contract and make alternative arrangements to complete the balance work. The RDS Projects Ltd was blacklisted earlier by the state govt for the failure in properly executing the Palarivattom flyover project in Kochi.“The present slowdown is linked to funding issues between RDS Projects and its sub-contractor RKC Infrastructure. We have instructed the contractor to immediately improve mobilisation and prioritise this section because of the heavy traffic congestion,” an NHAI official told TOI.The latest move comes amid renewed concern over the near-stagnation of work on the crucial stretch. Only around 55% of the project, including the Attingal bypass, has been completed. The completion deadline has already been extended to March 2027, after the original target of Jan 2025 was missed. This has also caused uncertainty about the connectivity between the capital city and northern districts.The immediate issue is understood to be a funding dispute between RDS Projects and Pune-based RKC Infrastructure Ltd, which has been executing a substantial portion of the work on the ground.The financial issue has severely affected mobilisation. Many workers engaged by RKC have reportedly returned to Maharashtra, leaving only limited manpower at several locations. With workers, machinery and other resources not available in sufficient numbers, construction activity has virtually come to a standstill at several sites.NHAI has been repeatedly warning RDS Projects over the sluggish progress. The authority had earlier imposed a penalty of around Rs 50 crore on the contractor after it failed to achieve the prescribed monthly progress of about 4-5%. NHAI had warned that continued failure to meet targets could invite more stringent contractual action.The 29km package includes six-laning of NH 66, the 11.15km Attingal bypass, flyovers, underpasses, bridges, culverts and an extensive service-road network. RDS had subcontracted the execution to RKC Infrastructure in an effort to accelerate construction and had earlier indicated that the entire stretch would be assigned to the company to ensure timely completion.However, the change in execution arrangement failed to resolve the problems. Shortages of labour, machinery and construction materials, along with delays in earthwork, have repeatedly affected progress. In Jan this year, the project had reached only around 50% completion, with the shortage of red earth emerging as a major obstacle to embankment and landfilling works.
