Kaleshwaram Barrages - Govt To Step Up Heat On L&T, Afcons, Navayuga
Criminal proceedings on the anvil against companies
Hyderabad: With no headway being made in ‘convincing’ construction companies L&T, Afcons, and Navayuga to take up repairs to the Medigadda, Sundilla and Annaram barrages of the Kaleshwaram project at their cost, even with the threat of being blacklisted, the government is learnt to have decided to escalate the matter in what sources said could be a last call to the companies to fall in line, or else face the music.
Highly placed sources in the irrigation department on Saturday said the process of sending letters to the three companies with a warning that they will face ‘criminal proceedings’ if they do not own up to mistakes made in the construction of the barrages, and agree to carry out all required repairs at their own cost, is now underway.
This move came after the irrigation department sought opinion from the government’s legal department on the pros and cons of such action, and received the go-ahead. It has decided to issue fresh notices to the three companies.
It may be recalled that the Justice P.C. Ghose Commission of Inquiry into the Medigadda barrage, as well as an earlier Vigilance & Enforcement wing probe into irregularities in the construction of Kaleshwaram barrages, had recommended launching of criminal proceedings against the contracting companies for negligence, and other acts of commission and omission during and after the construction of the barrages.
“They were issued notices earlier and given the opportunity to respond positively and they did not. And now things are getting more serious. They must be held accountable for what they did,” a top source in the irrigation department said.
“It is not about taking action against the companies for the sake of it but seeking legitimate redressal for rectification of problems at the barrages that the companies should be held accountable for.”
After the irrigation department sent notices in November to L&T, Afcons and Navayuga, threatening that they can be blacklisted not just in the state but rest of India if they did not step up to rectify problems at the barrages, all the three companies responded saying that they were not responsible for the problems.
The contractors made it clear that all they did was follow the designs and directions provided by the irrigation department in building the barrages and their later operations, and that they could not be held at fault, especially after several faults in the designs were pointed out by the National Dam Safety Authority.
