Nellore: TDP leader Anam Venkata Ramana Reddy demands irrigation Superintending Engineer suspension

Nellore: Telugu Desam Party district spokesperson Anam Venkata Ramana Reddy demanded the government for action against the irrigation SE, who failed to follow tender procedures for Malidevi drain in Kovur mandal. He handed over a representation to the statue of Mokshagundam Visweswarayya in the city on Wednesday explaining irregularities in the works being executed by the department.

He said the department had invited tenders for Malidevi drain with a length of 42 km where 22 lakh cubic meters of earthwork is to be done. He said the total cost of contract is Rs 72 crore and the last date for filing tenders was Tuesday through online mode.

But the contractors had to submit their documents and demand drafts to the Superintending Engineer on Wednesday between 10 am and 11 am. The SE came to the office at 10.45 am to sign on the papers and spent time in the computer section till 11 am and simply announced that the time for submission was over, he said.

The office has already been surrounded by the goons and anti-social elements and the SE had failed to invite even police personnel for the protection of the contractors, he said. Four contractors out of 6 only submitted their online bids handing over DDs and others to the office and the TDP leader asked rationality of system and transparency in reverse tendering process being publicised by the State government.

"The Irrigation Minister Anil Kumar Yadav has frequently been telling about reverse tendering and the transparent process for saving public money. Now, in his hometown, why they had failed to allow other contractors to participate in the tendering process if they are genuine? We have been repeatedly informing about the presence of irrigation mafia in the district and the act of SE confirmed it. We demand the government to suspend the senior official and conduct a high-level inquiry on the incident and cancel the tenders," said Anam Venkata Ramana Reddy.

The TDP leader also said that Sudhakar Infra, which submitted their tenders online, met the Collector on Wednesday and handed over a representation for necessary action. He said they were also meeting the Collector on Friday for explaining the situation and for action against irregularities.