No works on Medigadda sans nod, says NDSA

The team wanted the heads and representatives of various agencies involved in the implementation of the project to make themselves available in Delhi for further interaction and questioning.

Hyderabad: The team of experts deputed by the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) that completed the preliminary round of investigation into the structural issues of the Medigadda barrage of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project, has asked the State not to take up any repairs or rehabilitation work without its concurrence, according to officials here.

The team wanted the heads and representatives of various agencies involved in the implementation of the project to make themselves available in Delhi for further interaction and questioning. But the State officials suggested that it would be easier for the team to come down once again to Hyderabad instead of asking the project officials to visit Delhi.

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The files pertaining to information about each of the 20 aspects the team sought were voluminous and it would be an uphill task to lift them to Delhi, they said. Copies of almost all the files related to the designs and detailed project report were submitted to the team. The team was a bit choosy in picking the files that were to be carried to Delhi, officials said.

Every piece of information that was available with the Project authority was made available to the NDSA. “It would not be justified to claim that the information provided by the State was partial,” a senior Irrigaiton official said, adding that only photo copies of some files were available with the department and they were already shared with the NDSA.

The original files were handed over to the Vigilance Department, which conducted an inquiry into the factors that paved the way for sagging of the piers in Block no 7 of Medigadda barrage.

“We have nothing to hide so far as the KLIP files were concerned. The State government had also directed the department to cooperative with the NDSA by sharing every information the expert team had asked for. It has asked for information on certain new issues in addition to the list of 20 items it wanted initially. No record was maintained so far as some of the additional items were concerned. We made it clear that such information can be furnished subsequently,” officials said.

The State wanted the team to provide an interim report enabling the government to take up works well before the onset of monsoon. The project authorities have to be ready to handle the flood flow at Medigadda right from the last week of May instead of waiting for months for the final report with the recommendations of the NDSA panel, they pointed out.