VIJAYAWADA: The State Water Resources department is all set to submit a detailed report on the reverse tendering of Polavaram project at the meeting scheduled to be convened by the Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) in Hyderabad on Monday. The authority will later forward the report to the Union Jal Shakti Ministry, which stated that it has not been given any official information by the State government on the latest developments pertaining to the national project.
Even though the meeting was initially scheduled to be held on October 16, it was later postponed to Monday. The officials from the PPA clarified that it was not an executive meeting, but one to take stock of the government’s plans on resuming the project execution.
One of the major points likely to be discussed is the pending award of the works to Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd, even though the reverse tendering concluded on September 23, with the government claiming that `780 crore was saved. The PPA had earlier advised the State against going for reverse tendering stating that it may delay the project. However, the State officials informed the authority that there would not be any delay and that the department was planning to resume the works in the first week of November after the Godavari flooding season ends. But, with the High Court reserving its order on the petition filed by Navayuga Engineering Company Ltd against the government’s decision to scrap the contract for execution of 960 MW hydel power plant, the department has not been able to sign an agreement with MEIL.
Union Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat had also stated that there was no official communication from the State on the reverse tendering and added that the Centre will take an appropriate decision when a report is submitted. On Tuesday, another key meeting is scheduled in New Delhi in which the Revised Cost Estimates Committee of the ministry would deliberate on the revised detailed project report (DPR) of the national project. The revised DPR, which got technical advisory committee’s nod in February, has been kept pending for want of more details. The State officials hope that the panel will clear the DPR as all the necessary details were furnished. They reason that it was essential for the DPR to be approved as the Centre could release funds only after the committee clears it.
Another key meet tomorrow
On Tuesday, another key meeting is scheduled in New Delhi in which the Revised Cost Estimates Committee would deliberate on DPR of the national project