VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has made it clear that delay in execution of Capital Amaravati works will not be tolerated, and contracting agencies should strictly abide by project deadlines.
Holding a high-level meeting with various contracting agencies involved in the capital construction project and officials at his Camp Office in Undavalli on Saturday, the Chief Minister expressed his displeasure over slow pace of work progress.
He directed officials to constantly monitor the progress of works and ensure their timely completion. The officials informed the Chief Minister that capital development works worth Rs 57,821 crore are currently underway and works worth Rs 50,943 crore were already grounded.
The review covered work progress in housing, roads, trunk infrastructure, LPS amenities and iconic structures such as the Assembly, High Court and Secretariat buildings.
At present, around 20,000 workers and experts are engaged in capital construction works. The Chief Minister reviewed the performance of each contractor, assessing progress against the set target. He expressed his dissatisfaction over delay in execution of works by some agencies.
Contractors highlighted manpower shortage due to ongoing Assembly elections in five States. The Chief Minister advised them to utilise locally available skilled manpower to the maximum extent to overcome the shortage.
Making it clear that the capital construction should be completed within the set timeframe and there should be no compromise in this regard, Naidu underscored the need for deployment of additional manpower to speed up works.
Supply sand & gravel for Amaravati works through green channel: Naidu
Naidu said contractors should not see the capital works as a mere project contract as all the firms taking part in Amaravati capital construction will be part of history.
Naidu directed that weekly and monthly targets be set and strictly adhered. He reiterated that there is no shortage of funds for the capital construction and urged contractors handling multiple projects to accelerate the work progress. Analysing the ongoing works and set targets, he said works worth `941 crore should be completed within a week.
“Amaravati should be developed as a future-ready city with innovation and excellence,” he said. Going by the series of fire accidents in the capital region in recent times, the CM expressed strong displeasure over the negligence of construction agencies in safeguarding materials. He warned that in a politically sensitive environment, even minor lapses could be exploited.
The CM instructed that immediate alerts be issued in case of any untoward incident and emphasised the need for appointing competent project managers.
Naidu instructed the officials to ensure supply of adequate sand and gravel to ensure the works go on without any interruption. When it came to his notice that there was some difficulty in supply of gravel in Krishna district because of the non-cooperative attitude of forest officials, Naidu expressed his ire and directed the officials to supply sand and gravel required for the capital construction through a green channel. He warned that strict action would be taken against anyone creating hurdles and instructed senior officials to coordinate with the Collectors of Krishna, Guntur and NTR districts to resolve any issues.