Narayanpet-Kodangal Lift Irrigation Scheme too likely to go the Megha way
Despite being a major player in the infrastructure sector, MEIL has been under the radar in terms of public perception.
Hyderabad: Despite having its share of controversies and setbacks, Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) is all set to grab one more important project in the State, that too one linked to the Chief Minister’s constituency.
The Congress government has reportedly decided in principle to award the Rs.4350 crore Narayanpet-Kodangal Lift irrigation scheme to MEIL. The move to pick the company for the implementation of the project is raising many eyebrows.
Despite being a major player in the infrastructure sector, MEIL has been under the radar in terms of public perception. Even as the government had played down the enormity of damage caused, the collapse of the retainer wall of the Sunkishala intake well within a week after its construction was seen as a major setback as its implementation was taken up with a sense of urgency. The Sunkishala intake well project, being implemented by the MEIL, is a key component of the Rs.215 crore Krishna Drinking Water Supply Project (KWSP) of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) aimed at meeting the drinking water needs of Hyderabad. The project, expected to be completed by March 2024, is likely to face significant delays because of the retainer wall collapse.
Though Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy maintained that the government had nothing to lose with the retainer wall collapse, the delays in completion of the project would certainly add to the increased labour costs. The government had ignored the demands for blacklisting the company and for a judicial probe into the construction of the intake well.
But giving into the mounting pressure from the BRS for action against the implementation agency for the incident, the Vigilance and Enforcement has initiated the inquiry process. A team of Vigilance officials visited the intake well pump house and took stock of the extent of damage on Sunday.
In respect of a similar project awarded to it in Chhattisgarh as well, MEIL was embroiled in a major controversy. The CBI initiated a probe in August 2023 against the company for the way it managed to get a Rs.315 crore project related to an intake well and pump house and cross-country pipeline at an integrated steel plant in Jagdalpur.
The Narayanpet- Kodangal Lift irrigation scheme is intended to extend irrigation facilities to over 1,00,000 acres in Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’ Kodangal assembly constituency besides Narayanpet and Makthal segments. The State government gave its nod for the implementation of the Narayanpet-Kodangal Lift Irrigation Scheme issuing GO Rt No 14 on February 8 this year. It has decided to go ahead with the project giving a go-bye to standard procedures. No safeguards were taken against overlaps with existing and ongoing projects though it is a mandatory exercise as per the established guidelines.
The project seeks to extend irrigation to 53,745 acres in Kodangal assembly constituency, 25,738 acres in Makthal assembly constituency and 20,472 acres in Narayanpet assembly constituency. But much of the area sought to be covered under the new project was part of the proposed command of Uddandapur reservoir, a key component under Stage 2 of the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Scheme with 11 TMC of water.
Tenders were called for completion of the works under PRLIS Stage II at a cost of Rs.5,600 crore. But these tenders were cancelled by the Congress government after the party came to power in December last year. The government decided to implement a separate lift irrigation scheme instead at a cost of Rs.4350 crore. Its first package will include the construction of Panchdev Pahad and Bhutpur Pumping Stations and development of ponds at a cost of Rs.1,134.62 crore. In the second package, the construction of the Ootkur and Kanukurthi pumping stations will be undertaken at an estimated cost of Rs.1,126.23 crore. Tenders were already invited for two packages of the works.
The project implementation needs acquisition of 3000 acres of land. The land acquisition would be the toughest part of the job. As in the case of a majority of such major projects, the land acquisition task is likely to take more than three years, even as it was proposed to complete the lift scheme in two years.
The government, as part of the modifications it made in the plans, had opted to construct pressure mains to lift water instead of going in for the construction of tunnels for a 38 km long stretch. Irrigation officials, however, stated that the bids were invited publicly for the implementation of the project and hence all the qualified companies would be given a fair chance.
