NEW DELHI: The ambitious slaughterhouse project at Ghazipur in East Delhi might prove to be a big drain on the Municipal Corporation of Delhi's coffers. Much to the dismay of senior Municipal Corporation of Delhi officials, the contractor has now submitted a Rs.152-crore proposal for completion of the project.

After the Supreme Court ordered relocation of the 200-year-old Idgah slaughterhouse in 2004, the civic body decided to build a Rs.65-crore state-of-the-art abattoir at Ghazipur. With the Supreme Court setting the June 30, 2006, deadline for completion of the project, work began early last year.

But due to payment problems between the civic body and the contractor, and the Councillors raising objections over the cost factor and tendering process, work has got delayed.

The contractor, who failed to carry out construction work at the project site for over the past two months, has now submitted a proposal offering to complete the entire project at the total cost of a whopping Rs.152 crores. The remaining project work include construction of an effluent treatment plant (ETP), setting up of a chiller, the entire paraphernalia for fire-fighting and air-conditioning of the abattoir, besides about 30 per cent of civil work.

The ETP construction is likely to take another year, and till then there is no hope of the modern slaughterhouse becoming operational.

Sources in the civic body say senior MCD officials are annoyed over the amount of Rs.152 crores quoted by the contractor for completing the project as they want it to be completed in Rs.100-110 crores. Sources say the committee formed to negotiate the final cost of the project with the contractor would now re-negotiate to complete the project on a "turnkey" basis.

After certain features were added to the abattoir and its capacity raised, the project's cost was revised from Rs.65 crores to around Rs.110 crores. After the Supreme Court's intervention, the MCD has already paid Rs.87 crores to the contractor.

The entire machinery for the project has already been imported and is lying at the site in nine sealed containers. Though the MCD had sought expertise of the Union Government's Directorate General of Supplies & Disposals for inspection of the machinery, but it has refused. Now the machinery would be tested only after it is mounted on platforms at the abattoir after the civil work is completed.

Sources informed that the committee formed to negotiate the final price of the project is busy preparing a proposal after which it would approach the contractor. The next date of hearing of the case before the Supreme Court is July 13, by then all negotiations with the contractor would be completed. By July 15, all necessary approval would be sought from the deliberative wing of the civic body, after which work on the project would begin at full pace, sources added.

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