IITs may be part of irrigation works

The state irrigation department may utilise the services of institutes like the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) for third party quality assurance certifications for future irrigation projects in the state.

This would be in addition to the government's own mobile quality control units which would be set up to undertake surprise checks on the execution of projects.

Disclosing the concept of third party quality assurance, C V S K Sarma, principal secretary of the state irrigation department, said that the services of these institutes, which would be shortlisted shortly, would be utilised from the beginning of work till the completion of the project.

The state government has been going ahead with its ambitious five-year action plan to complete 26 irrigation projects at a cost of around Rs 30,000 crore.

Nine companies, almost all of them are joint ventures, have been already been shortlisted for taking up work related to the projects, each ranging between Rs 100 crore and Rs 150 crore, on EPC mode.

Till now 22 packages, at a cost of Rs 4,022 crore have been sanctioned and another 30 packages of similar size are under consideration.

Sarma said they would soon issue the notification inviting institutions such as IITs to take part in third party quality assurance. The last date for the second round of pre-qualification bids is 31 August, 2004. The packages of 28 medium size irrigation projects also would be awarded to these second group of companies.

"All the big projects world over are being taken up on a Engineering and Procurement Contract (EPC) basis and there is no question of cartelisation among these shortlisted companies. Any variation beyond 5 per cent of the irrigation department's detailed project estimates will deemed to be cancelled," Sarma said.