TPCC expresses concern over “biggest scam” to be in post-independent India

Seeking detailed project reports of irrigation projects with means of financing plan at an early date, TPCC expressed serious concern over the alleged biggest scam in independent India is going to happen in the present irrigation projects in the newly formed Telangana state.

           

TPCC Chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy addressed a letter to Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma in this regard here on July 15. In the letter, Uttam expressed deep concern at the completely ad hoc, arbitrary, unscientific and irrational manner in which the irrigation projects with total cost outlay of over 1.5 lakhs of crores of rupees were being taken up. Requesting the Chief Secretary to give the detailed project reports of all irrigation projects be put in public domain, Uttam asked the former to tell as to why the government changing continuously project designs and cost of projects. He asked the government to tell as to why the cost of Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift-Irrigation scheme was increasing by thousands of crores each week. He asked the Chief Secretary to provide the DPRs of Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme, Pranahitha-Adilabad, Kaleswaram, Seetharama and Dundi Projects.

           

Demanding the government to call fresh tenders for wherever the government hiked the specifications, sources and capacities of the irrigation projects, he wondered as to why the government awarding the works to the earlier contractors. He alleged that the government was selling government lands and mortgaging the future of the Telangana public by taking high cost debts to raise funds for the irrigation projects ignoring all known established norms in awarding government contract works.

           

Stating that proposed method of adopting swiss challenge procedure of awarding contracts in some of the projects was also against public interest, Uttam suggested the government not to follow swiss challenging method of awarding contracts.         He said that he was surprised at escalating Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme in an adhoc and arbitrary manner from Rs.35,200 crores to Rs.47,500 crores by escalating Rs.12,000 crores in a single project even before work has began on the ground.

           

Alleging that the government still awarding irrigation projects to Andhra contractors at hugely overpriced costs, Uttam said that it was surprising that the government was trying to forcibly take over the land of poor Telangana farmers and farm labor without giving them adequate compensation, assessing social/ environment impact assessment, and taking up R&R works in submergence areas. He requested the Chief Secretary to avoid huge balancing reservoirs at huge cost and large submergence areas. He mentioned that all over the country and across the globe wherever huge lift schemes were built, sumps were provided and not huge balancing reservoirs. He demanded the government that all procedures and R&R benefits should be followed as per Land Acquisition Act-2013 wherever land was being acquired. (NSS)