The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : State serious on completion of irrigation projects

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 18, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

State serious on completion of irrigation projects

By M. Malleswara Rao

HYDERABAD, FEB. 17. Efforts are being made for quick completion of irrigation projects whose tenders have been cleared recently.

The Government has geared up its machinery to punish contractors for any delay in completion of the projects beyond the deadline laid down in the contract. Damages will be levied at 10 per cent of the contractor's quotation. On the other hand, 1 per cent incentive will be offered to those completing the works early.

Electronic monitoring

An electronic monitoring and documentation centre has been opened in the Irrigation Department to keep track of progress of works and give feedback to the Government.

A website has been created by the Centre for Good Governance for monitoring the progress.

Fiftyseven medium packages, worth Rs. 4,024 crores covering different projects, have been awarded to 69 empanelled contractors.

Excess quoted in all these packages was found to be 5 per cent or less.

Two bids which were in excess were rejected while there was no response on another two --Kinnerasani and Bhupathipalem. The Engineer-in-Chief, B.V.S. Prakasa Rao, said they would re-tender the two packages on which the earlier price bids were either rejected or on which there was no response.

The medium packages awarded add to the 21 `major' packages already given away to nine firms worth Rs. 4,992 crores which were cleared by the Supreme Court.

Bids for packages

As such a total of 78 major/medium packages, valued at Rs. 9,158 crores, have been allotted to contractors. The price bids for 30 more medium packages, worth Rs. 1,912 crores, and 30 other major packages (Rs. 6,351 crores) will be opened on Saturday and Monday respectively.

According to sources in the Government, work on the 21 packages cleared by the Apex Court has begun and medium packages will be grounded anytime now.

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