Delayed projects: BSY pulls up Nigam chiefs

BENGALURU: Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, in the absence of a water resources minister, held a meeting with top officials of all the Neeravari Nigams on Wednesday and pulled them up for undue delays in the execution of 40-plus lift irrigation projects across the state.He said that some ‘unscrupulous elements’ are not interested in completing the projects. 

He warned Nigam chiefs not to fall prey to ‘Pipe Lobbies’, who tempt them to collect bills for the pipes and leave the works pending. Bills are claimed for pipes, but the overall civil work remains unfinished, he added.

At a closed-door meeting, after the mandatory annual finalisation of accounts, he told the officials, “I want a status report on all the lift irrigation projects and they should all be completed in time. There should be no scope for any complaints.”

Those present were Chief Secretary P Ravi Kumar and the additional chief secretaries ISN Prasad (finance) and Rakesh Singh (water resources). MDs of all the nigams, Karnataka Neeravari Nigam’s Mallikarjun BG, Vishweshwaraya Jala Nigam’s Lakshman Rao Peshwe, Cauvery Neeravari Nigam’s Jaiprakash and Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam’s Prabhakar C, were present. 

Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam Limited has 13 lift irrigation projects, Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Limited 25 and Visvesvaraya Jala Nigam Limited 10, and it is no secret that 40 to 70% of the total cost of the project goes for pipes.  Companies first source pipes, leaving the rest of the project hanging. 
CM Yediyurappa told the MDs that he has received complaints from MLAs and other elected represen-tatives.