Tug of war for the tender of Rs 54 crore of Brahmagavhan scheme

Aurangabad, July 9:

The government and Godavari Marathwada Irrigation Development Corporation are in a tug of war over the tender process of Rs 54 crore Brahmagavhan Lift Irrigation Scheme (Phase 2) canal-1 of Paithan. The government postponed the decision of the corporation chief engineer of March 2021 to cancel the work given without tender. This might lead to the work getting delayed.

The old tender was canceled by the chief engineer on March 3 due to illegal subletting. The state government and water resource department had ordered that the decision to cancel the tender be postponed. The contract for the 37 km long canal worth Rs 54 crore was awarded to Amberwadikar and Sons. This work was first subletted to Ravi Kiran Constructions. Then in August 2020, the work was again sublet to Sahas Construction. From 2010 to 2021, the work moved at snail's pace. Meanwhile, the original contractor, Amberwardikar and Sons, was fined Rs 25 crore by an inquiry committee for delaying the work. Meanwhile, the chief minister and water resources minister had demanded an extension to the work. Earlier, an inquiry committee of six engineers was appointed by order of the water resources department. As per the report of the committee, chief engineer Ashok Awhad cancelled the tender in March 2021 due to illegal subletting.

Letter by the executive director

In a letter given to the executive director of the corporation by the water resources department, it is said that the chief engineer had in February 2021 ordered the cancellation of the tender for the Brahmagavhan scheme. The government in a letter has demanded to postpone the orders and form an inquiry committee. The executive director forwarded the letter to the chief engineer to take a decision on the matter.