KCBT takes centerstage in TN Assembly; CM assures amenities

CHENNAI: Amenities or the alleged lack of them at Kalaignar Centenary Bus Terminus (KCBT) took center stage in the State Assembly on Tuesday after the treasury benches and Opposition crossed swords over the reported complaints of the passengers.

AIADMK MLA Sellur Raju set the tone for the debate during the question hour when he urged the state government to ensure that the passengers from southern districts reach the city without hassles.

Joining the issue, State Transport Minister S S Sivasankar said that only 30% works of the KCBT were done in the previous AIADMK regime and the rest were completed and the terminus made operational in the incumbent regime.

Pointing out that about 80% of the buses operated from Koyambedu CMBT were being operated from KCBT and another 20% to southern districts were operated from Madhavaram, Sivasankar offered to take the Opposition MLAs to KCBT to show them around.

Rushing to the defence of his Cabinet college, P K Sekarbabu, minister for CMDA, which developed the KCBT, said that the tenders for the project announced in 2013 was floated in 2018 and finalised in 2019 and the previous government set March 2021 as the deadline to complete the project, but only 30% works were completed by then.

Noting that the KCBT was spread over 86 acres, against the 33-acre CMBT, Sekar Babu said that the incumbent government spent Rs 100 crore on various works to develop the KCBT.

Arguing that Omni bus operations were shifted from Parry's to Koyambedu in 2009, seven years after the CMBT was commissioned in 2002, the CMDA Minister said that Omni bus operations were shifted to Kilambakkam in 45 days since the commissioning of the KCBT on December 30, 2023.

Listing out the various amenities created in KCBT, including the development of a skywalk at Rs 60 crore, Kilambakkam railway station at Rs 20 crore, and clinics, eateries, facility for drivers, shops, parks, and stormwater drains laid for 1,700 meters to prevent flooding, the Minister said that the bus terminus was 100% operational and naming the bus terminus after former CM M Karunanidhi was the reason behind the opposition repeatedly crying foul over the KCBT repeatedly.

He also added that there were some minor issues in the terminus and the government was ready to take the LoP and all MLAs to show them around the terminus for them to understand the amenities available there.

Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami intervened and said that he had only pointed to the minor issues at the terminus and they were only flagging the passengers' issues reported by the media.

He also added that the people would not have faced the issues if it were operationalized after completing the work fully.

When Sekarbabu faulted the previous EPS regime for only completing 30% of work till March 2021, the LoP attributed it to the COVID crisis.

Chief Minister M K Stalin put the issue to the debate by stating that his government had resolved not just minor but the major issues in the terminus and the government would solve the minor issue and any other issues, if any, pointed out by the opposition.