VIJAYAWADA: Even though the State government is trying to expedite infrastructure works in Amaravati, there seems to be no takers for the development of some Land Pooling Scheme (LPS) layouts. Case in point: Even after inviting tenders for the third time for infrastructure development in five LPS zones -- 4,5,9,12, 12A -- no bidder has come forward to execute the works.
With an objective to return the developed LPS layouts to farmers within three years of procuring their lands as mandated by the APCRDA Act, 2014, the AP Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) invited tenders for 11 of the 13 LPS zones last year. While the contractors for six LPS zones — 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10 — have been identified, no bidder has come forward for the others. The CRDA is yet to procure land in the remaining two zones.
With this, farmers who had given their lands will have to wait for longer for improved plots as infrastructure development in seven of the 13 zones is yet to take off for want of developers.
“No bidder participated when we called tenders in Hybrid Annuity Model November last year. So, we invited fresh tenders in May this year by changing the model of execution to Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC). Since no bidder came forward even then, we went for re-tendering in the first week of July. However, no bids have been received so far,” a senior engineering official told TNIE. While the last date of submission of bids for zones 4,5, 9 and 12A ended on different days last week, it was Wednesday for zone 12.
The scope of work includes designing and construction of roads, water supply lines, sewage lines, sewage treatment plants (STPs), utility ducts for power and information and communication technology (ICT), water recycling system, greenery development and other works. The officials have also decided to expedite the land procurement in zones 8 and 11 to invite tenders for the works.