BHUBANESHWAR: The state cabinet today approved a sewerage project for Bhubaneswar's sewerage district-II, mostly comprising old town areas of the capital city, at a cost of Rs 173.8 crore.
A decision was taken at the cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to award the project to a new company since the one to which it awarded earlier failed to implement it properly. Chief secretary AP Padhi told mediapersons that the project is likely to completed by 2020.
Laying of sewer network for Bhubaneswar sewerage district I and II as a single package and sewerage district-III as a separate project was awarded to East Coast Construction Industries Limited, Chennai in 2007 at an estimate of Rs 136 crore and Rs 150 crore respectively. Since the work was not completed beyond the scheduled target time even after several extension of time were allowed, the state government rescinded both the contracts of the company on November 16, 2015 after a long legal battle. Another writ petition was filed by a non-responsive builder challenging the tender evaluation process for sewerage district-II.
The chief secretary said on receipt of leave of the High Court and dismissal of the writ petition, the tender proposals for the sewerage district-II offered by Laxmi Construction, Ahmedabad at a cost of Rs 173.8 crore was approved.
The cabinet also cleared the Bijepur lift irrigation project which was announced by the chief minister on October 16. The project in Bargarh district named after renowned poet Gangadhar Meher will irrigate 32,000 hectares - 19,000 hectares in Bijepur, 8000 hectares in Sohela and 5000 hectares in Barpali. Agriculture minister Damodar Rout told mediapersons that the lift irrigation project will improve agricultural output in the area.
The chief secretary said the project to be completed by March, 2018 will cost about Rs 1246 crore. Water will be drawn from Hirakud dam through Bargarh main canal of about 17.6 kilometers into Barihapalli secondary storage structure, Padhi said and added that from the secondary structure, water will be delivered to the command area through a mix of gravity and pressured under ground pipe system with outlets for every four hectares. Micro irrigation system will be adopted in about 30 percent of the total command area, he said and added that the project will be executed through Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) mode.