Kaleshwaram barrage contractors in no mood to budge, weigh legal options
Telangana government has issued an ultimatum to L&T, Afcons, and Navayuga to repair the flood-damaged Kaleshwaram barrages at their own cost or face blacklisting, asset seizure, and legal action. Contractors allege they are being made scapegoats and may seek legal recourse
Hyderabad: Demanding repairs to the flood-ravaged structures of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project, the State government has put on notice all the three agencies that implemented the Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages. It has asked them to repair the structures at their own cost or else face blacklisting, asset seizures and exclusion from future tenders.
The State has insisted on swift action by deploying machinery, staff and resources to aid ongoing tests. Non-compliance will attract forfeiture of earnest money deposits (EMD) and pending bills, it warned. But the contractor firms, according to official sources, are under the impression that they were being made scapegoats in a politically charged situation. They are reportedly weighing the option of legal recourse.
Complying with the contractual obligation would not only mean footing a multi-crore rehabilitation bill for the flood-induced damage, but could imply tacit acceptance of responsibility for design or construction issues thus opening floodgates to audits and penalties.
L&T, which executed the Medigadda barrage, was first to receive the ultimatum from the government. Afcons and Navayuga that executed Annaram and Sundilla received a 13-page letter from Superintending Engineer Mohammed Dasthagir from Ramagundam Irrigation Circle on Tuesday.
The letter details damages and remedial options. The agencies are expected to respond to the missive from the government in a week.
The L&T is in no mood to yield anything beyond what is legally binding on it and it has made its stand sufficiently clear in its earlier communications. The operation and maintenance phase lasts three years, after which the barrage must be handed over free of flaws.
As an official made it clear, any legal battle with implementation agencies would only help buy time, which the agencies are also in need of. Farmers under the project had lost three crop seasons. The legal battle would be a never-ending exercise and over a period of time, the department only would weaken with the retirement of key officials and changes in the government. Farmers would pay the price ultimately.
The government had already received bids with expression of interest for providing new designs for the rehabilitation of the barrages. It should expedite the process and commence the work without further delay, he felt.
