The Hindu : Karnataka News : Contractors’ bills yet to be cleared

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 24, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka

Contractors’ bills yet to be cleared

H.S. Narasimha Kumar

The modernisation of the Bhadra canals is estimated at Rs. 916 crore
Bills are supposed to be settled on
a monthly basis

DAVANGERE: Modernisation work on the canal system of the Bhadra Reservoir Project could come to a halt any time now as the 10 agencies carrying out the work have not been paid. Over Rs. 200 crore has been spent on the project so far.

The bills submitted by the agencies to the Government have not been cleared. While most of them say they are unable to sustain the huge financial burden, one agency has decided to complete the work assigned to it and then pressure the Government into settling its dues.

Most of the agencies have installed heavy machinery at the worksite and employed a large workforce. The modernisation work is unlikely to be completed by December. Farmers may have to sacrifice one more crop.

The Government had, in response to public demand, approved the project at a cost of Rs. 916 crore. The canal system was designed to ensure that water was available for around 300 days a year. Leaks were noticed in structures such as aqueducts, super passages and sluices. The agencies have installed expensive machinery such as excavators, bulldozers and tippers and stored raw material procured from different places. The contractors, on condition of anonymity, said they had invested a huge amount of money without any returns. They said they had borrowed money from private financiers to complete the work. According to the agreement, the Government is supposed to settle their bills on a monthly basis

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