HYDERABAD: Irrigation officials are of the view that L&T, which led the joint venture (JV) with PES, will have to accept the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) report on the Kaleshwaram project and submit comprehensive proposals for the rehabilitation of the Medigadda barrage, as the JV is the contracting agency.
L&T had recently written to the state government, stating that there were “certain inconsistencies” in the NDSA report.
It requested the state government to ask the NDSA to update the report. However, the government is of the view that L&T should accept the report, as the NDSA is a statutory body.
“It may be appropriate to accept the report and furnish the comprehensive proposals for rehabilitation immediately in respect of Block-7 specifically, and for other blocks in general, as per the clauses of the general conditions of contract and any other relevant agreement conditions, to safeguard the structural integrity of the Medigadda barrage and protect the lives and livelihoods of dependent communities examined at this juncture, and to further mitigate the vulnerability of other blocks of the Medigadda barrage, as similar failures cannot be ruled out,” the Chief Engineer (Irrigation), Ramagundam, Peddapalli district, wrote in a letter to L&T.
“The agency has not considered the entire report but only commented on issues favourable to it,” the CE wrote.
Irrigation CE asks KLIS contractor to address other issues
The Chief Engineer (Irrigation) asked the contracting agency to address the other issues raised by the NDSA in its final report on the Kaleshwaram project. The contracting agency should address the following:
“No document was made available by the contracting agency to confirm that the method statements had the concurrence of the competent authority in the Irrigation department,” the letter said. It added that there was no document to support the fact that the mix designs were verified at the site and had the concurrence of the Irrigation department prior to the commencement of work at the site or to support that the concrete mixes were redesigned or reviewed in the project during the construction period.
“This has therefore resulted in unconditional concrete mix for various grades of concrete on account of increased cement content, besides increased heat of hydration of concrete. The quality control and assurance for the construction of the secant pile cutoff wall in terms of its integrity, water tightness and other parameters were not covered in the method statement. The construction agency should have considered the above, as cutoffs are one of the vital sub-surface components in the barrage structure,” the letter said.
NDSA – a statutory body
“It is to state that the NDSA is a statutory body set up by the Union government in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 8(1) of the National Dam Safety Act, 2021. It is headed by a chairman and assisted by five members to lead its five wings — policy and research, technical, regulation, disaster and resilience and administration and finance. The NDSA is the highest regulatory authority with core competencies in the design and construction aspects of dams,” the latter pointed out.
It continued: “The NDSA observed deficiencies in all aspects of execution of the barrage, not limited to construction deficiencies, to ensure safety and rehabilitation of all the barrages and advised the state government in its final report to undertake a comprehensive evaluation of the design of barrages. As the report is prepared by a team with strong expertise and qualified engineers involved in dam safety, there seems to be no alternative resolution other than to follow the guidelines and instructions of the NDSA without contradiction. The final report of the NDSA was also reviewed by the Central Water Commission”.
The CE also noted that the NDSA had consulted the agencies while preparing the final report.