AN EYE FOR DETAILS: Retired engineers taking notes during a discussion on the irrigation projects in Hyderabad on Thursday. - Photo: P.V. Sivakumar

HYDERABAD: A strong case was made out by a retired Chief Engineer, K.V.L. Narayana Rao, that irrigation projects taken up in the State on Engineering-Procurement-Construction (EPC) basis did not fit into the norms laid down by the International Federation of Engineering Consultants (FIDIC).

The FIDIC had released a `silver book' in 1999 outlining how the EPC projects were not suitable if there was insufficient time for the contractors to carry out designs, assess the risk and take up construction involving a lot of underground work. Mr. Rao argued at a round table organised by the Andhra Pradesh centre of the Institution of Engineers here on Thursday that the contractors were given only a month's time to quote bids for major works like dams and tunnels. The bid documents were supplied to them barely ten days before the due date for submission of tenders.

He argued that tenders could not be filed in haste. The tender process should be used to identify not simply the lowest priced bid, but the most competitive and technically appropriate one. Price was only secondary. One month was hardly sufficient for the purpose. The Government had called for contracts on EPC system for underground works, canals in cutting, tunnels and dams of uncertain foundation against norms.

Ambiguous: lawyer

A lawyer specialising in contracts and arbitration, Raghuveer Chander, said the present contract document was not in accordance with the EPC norms. It contained contradictions and ambiguity wherein clear contractual obligations could not be spelled out. This could lead to litigation. The EPC object of not having cost and time overrun would not be achieved.

A retired Chief Engineer, B. Anantaramulu, said the Polavaram project was not feasible as it was deficient in planning and formulation in all engineering aspects. He demanded the cancellation of tenders for the left and right canals, as they were unsuitable from the hydrology and EPC point of view.

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