Fund crunch, sand shortage hit stormwater drain project in Vijayawada

Vijayawada: The L&T Company, which is executing the stormwater drain works in the city at a cost of Rs 461 crore, has decided to stop the works due to delay in payments by the State government and shortage of sand. The company is reportedly unhappy with the policy adopted by the State government and also with local officials.

According to sources, already the company has planned to close the main project office in the city and served notice to office building owners to terminate the rental agreement contract. Apart from this, the company had transferred nearly 100 employees from the project. Now, the fate of the stormwater drain project hangs in balance.

The Central government had sanctioned Rs 461 crore for the stormwater drain project for the city about four years ago. The contract was awarded to L&T Company and the works were being supervised by the Public health department.

So far, only 57 per cent of work has been completed due to various reasons. Though the company had a good reputation to deal with such kind of works, it could not be completed due to illegal structures on road margins and unplanned drainage system. Now sand shortage, delay in release of funds and non-cooperation of officials have led to stoppage of the project by the contractor.

Krishna District Collector conducted a review meeting on the progress of the works recently. The project needs nearly 200 cubic metres of sand per day. But the sand is completely not available to the contractor. Moreover, nearly Rs 70 crore dues are pending with the State government.

The company officials repeatedly requested the State government in this regard but the funds were not released due to financial constraints. Public Health Department Executive Department Engineer N Prasada Rao said that so far only 57 per cent of works were completed. He said that the company shifted the main project office to a local office.