Maha needs Rs 70,750 cr to complete 452 irrigation projects

CM Devendra Fadnavis assures a financial planning to complete them

After leading a crusade against the the irrigation scams during the preceding Congress and Nationalist Congress Party government, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has now taken up the cudgels to finish the pending projects.

On Monday, Fadnavis told the state legislature that the 452 ongoing and incomplete irrigation projects will be completed through effective financial planning. He said contractors would have to follow strict deadlines and the government would not tolerate any nexus between the officials and the contractors, leading to delays.

In consultation with the water resources minister Girish Mahajan, Fadnavis has taken a policy decision to give top priority for the completion of 102 irrigation projects from the backward regions and Naxalite-hit districts.

This apart, projects with 75 per cent cost overrun and 50 per cent cost overrun will also be taken up for completion in a time-bound manner. Fadnavis has also told the water resources department not to take up those projects with 25 per cent development and need Rs 30,000 crore for completion. After allowing the Anti-Corruption Bureau to initiate an open inquiry against former water resources ministers Ajit Pawar and Sunil Tatkare last week, the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena government led by Fadnavis has firmed up an action plan to complete the 452 projects with an investment of Rs 70,750 crore.

A senior official told Business Standard, “Of the 452 projects, 90 are 75 per cent complete. These projects need Rs 3,266 crore. The water resources department plans to complete them within a year.”

The official said money would be raised through multiple instruments which include long term loan, central assistance and also from the state’s own treasury.

The government’s action plan for the completion of incomplete irrigation projects is quite crucial as the special investigation team (SIT) headed by water expert Madhav Chitale, in its report submitted in March, had cited several lapses in the irrigation sector and suggested corrective steps.

Besides, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in its report submitted last year to state government had castigated the Congress-NCP government for the cost overruns of Rs 27,000 crore. CAG said Rs 43,270.01 crore were spent on 426 incomplete irrigation projects in the state.

According to the CAG, in 242 projects, the collective cost has escalated by Rs 26,617.26 crore from Rs 7,215.03 crore to Rs 33,832.29 crore.

Further, no cost revision was reported in respect of 98 projects of Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation, 27 projects of Tapi Irrigation Development Corporation and three of Godawari Marathwada Irrigation Development Corporation.