By Express News Service
HYDERABAD: Even though the escalation in the cost of construction of Kaleshwaram lift irrigation scheme (KLIS) has come in for severe criticism from opposition parties and others, irrigation department officials cite their own reasons to justify the abnormal rise in the cost.
The originally-designed Pranathita-Chevella lift irrigation project was to cost about Rs 38,500 crore. After it was redesigned and re-engineered, and renamed as KLIS, its freshly-estimated cost has shot up to Rs 80,500 crore. "We have proposed construction of more barrages and reservoirs after re-engineering. It is the main reason for the cost escalation. The estimates of Pranahita-Chevella had been prepared in 2008. We prepared the estimates for Kaleshwaram eight years later. Naturally, the cost will go up," official sources explained.
Even after tenders were called in 2016, the estimates for three barrages under Kaleshwaram project have been revised recently. The estimate for Sundilla barrage has gone up from around Rs 1,400 crore to Rs 2,400 crore, for the Medigadda barrage from around Rs 2,500 crore to Rs 3,200 crore and for the Annaram barrage from around Rs 1,700 crore to Rs 2,500 crore. The estimates of lifts have also been revised.
"The reason for cost escalation is the increase in steel prices. When we invited tenders for KLIS, the steel price was Rs 28,000 a tonne. Following the imposition of Rs 12,500-crore penalty on them by the Supreme Court recently, steel manufacturers passed on the burden to consumers. As a result, the steel price has reached Rs 45,000 a tonne now," the sources said. The rise in prices like steel, cement and diesel would result in escalation of the cost of any project, they said.
The sources claimed that escalation of the cost of irrigation projects was not a new phenomenon and it was witnessed even in the case of Nagarjuna Sagar. "The delay in construction of projects would obviously lead to price escalation. That is why we are in a hurry to complete the Kaleshwaram project at the earliest without giving much scope for further increase in cost," they said and pointed out the rise in the cost estimates of irrigation projects in the past.
PROJECT - First estimate - First revised estimate -Second revised estimate - Third revised estimate (estimate value is given in Rs crore and year in brackets)
Nagarjuna Sagar - 122 (1954) - 163.54 (1968) - 312.47 (1974) - 1,183.94 (2000)
Sriram Sagar - 40.13 (1964) - 1,519.15 (1992) - 4,300 (1997) - Nil
Jurala - 70 (1980) - 204.75 (1985) - 1,240 (2008) - 1,815 (2016)
Pulichintala - 565.87 (2003) - 681.604 (2005) - 1,281.00 (2009) - 1,816.17 (2014)
Singur - 29.25 (1975) - 42.34 (1979) - 104.36 (1989) - 169.12 (1991)
Yellampalli - 900 (2004) - 1,366.92 (2103) - 2,048.28 (2016) - Nil
