State may give Gosikhurd project to PSU

MUMBAI: To avoid a re-run of the multi-crore irrigation scam and to keep the existing contractor cartel at bay, the state government is looking to complete one of

MUMBAI: To avoid a re-run of the multi-crore irrigation scam and to keep the existing contractor cartel at bay, the state government is looking to complete one of the biggest irrigation projects in the country, Gosikhurd, through a public sector company, tagged ‘Navratna company’ by the Government of India. Last week, the state government decided to scrap 81 tenders of the project — 94 tainted tenders in all — that were facing a police probe or had been indicted for irregularities.

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If this proposal by the water resources department goes through, it will be a first for the state government and could set an important precedent to break the contractor-official nexus in all public contracts, especially in the irrigation and roads sector.

“So far, the modus operandi in irrigation projects has been to split a big project into several small tenders and then distribute this pie among favoured contractors. If we give the remainder of the Gosikhurd project to say National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited (NBBC), we can be assured of quality and timely deadlines. More importantly, we will circumvent any possibility of fudging of tenders, bias etc,’’ said a senior official on condition of anonymity.

He said if this pilot project works, the government could in the future consider giving more irrigation contracts to public sector companies. The water resources department proposal is likely to be tabled in the cabinet next week and currently is being circulated for opinion from other departments, including finance.

The state cabinet last week had also approved a third cost escalation for Gosikhurd, a project that has been languishing for the past three decades. The project cost has been hiked by more than 50 times from Rs 372 crore in 1982 to Rs18,494 crore now. Officials told HT that work worth Rs9,500 crore has already been completed and the main dam structure was almost ready.

The balance civilian construction work is worth Rs 6,000 crore, while the acquisition and rehabilitation cost comes to around Rs3,000 core (85 villages have been displaced by this project).

The decision to keep contractors at bay by taking away Rs 6,000 crore of works could upset many politically influential contractors, who had their hands in the Gosikhurd project. Many of them have lost their earlier contracts and with this will no longer be able to bid for the remaining works.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is keen on completing this project by 2019 and its development is being tracked by his war room on infrastructure. As a national project, 90% funds will come from the Centre. Gosikhurd project has the potential to create irrigation potential of 2.50 lakh hectares in three districts of Nagpur, Chandrapur and Bhandara of Vidarbha, facing an agrarian crisis.