Lack of AP Government’s Financial Concurrence Clouds Four DRIP-II Projects
These projects had been proposed to be developed with financial aid from the World Bank through the central government.
Vijayawada:Andhra Pradesh has failed to take up four works under the centrally sponsored and World Bank-assisted Phase II of the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP), as the state’s Finance department has not extended the mandatory financial concurrence.
AP had proposed development of four projects, including Srisailam Dam in Kurnool, Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage at Dowleswaram, and Raiwada Reservoir in Anakapalli district, apart from another project in the state, under DRIP Phase II.
These projects had been proposed to be developed with financial aid from the World Bank through the central government.
Accordingly, the Water Resources department prepared cost estimates for the four projects. A committee inspected the proposed works at these projects. However, before the projects could be taken up, the central government asked the state government to issue its financial concurrence.
However, for reasons not yet known, AP’s Finance department did not issue its formal financial concurrence. This means the four projects cannot be taken up.
As projects under DRIP Phase-II have not been taken up, it implies that under normal circumstances, AP will not take up any projects under World Bank’s DRIP Phase III too.
The World Bank had initiated Phase I of the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project when the YSR Congress government had been ruling the state. However, the then government did not okay projects under DRIP Phase 1 within the stipulated period, though other states like Maharashtra and Karnataka utilised the Phase I funds. Now, the NDA alliance government has failed to utilise the Phase II funds.
AP water resources engineer-in-chief K. Narasimha Murthy said, “Though we initiated the process to take up developmental works for four projects under DRIP-II, we are unable to execute them for want of clearance from the Finance department.”
In the interim, AP government has given administrative sanction for taking up repair and rehabilitation works on Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage (SACB) at an estimated cost of ₹146 crore. In other words, the state government will utilise its own funds to repair and renovate 117 of the total 197 gates of the barrage, including 175 crest gates.
Dowleswaram Irrigation Head Works superintendent engineer G. Srinivasa Rao said, “We have almost finalised the procedure to call for tenders for taking up the works on 117 gates on SACB across Godavari River. Once the tenders are awarded, it may take two seasons to complete the repair and restoration works on the gates.”
In 2014, repair works had been carried out on 64 gates of SACB at a cost of ₹1.77 crore under the Godavari Delta System Modernisation Scheme.