CAG Makes Recommendations For Completing Veligonda Project
Vijayawada: Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has recommended that state government crystallise planning parameters and redesign components of the Poola Subbaiah Veligonda Project (PSVGP) wherever necessary, and execute the project accordingly.
Finance minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy presented a compliance report in the assembly in this regard on Thursday.
The uplands of Prakasam, SPSR Nellore and YSR Kadapa districts of Andhra Pradesh form part of a semi-arid zone in peninsular India, with scanty and erratic rainfall. These areas have been identified as drought-affected, the frequency of the drought rising during the last 50 years.
To mitigate these drought conditions, Government of Andhra Pradesh ordered an assessment with regard to the feasibility of PSVGP in February 1991. The project envisages drawal of flood water of River Krishna from the foreshore (Kollamvagu) of Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy Sagar (Srisailam Reservoir) during the monsoon period. The water so drawn is to be conveyed through an approach channel, two tunnels, and a feeder canal and impounded in Nallamalasagar reservoir.
Irrigation of the command area and provisioning of drinking water would be covered through three canals connected to the reservoir. The water so drawn would provide irrigation facilities to about 4.38 lakh acres for irrigating dry crops, apart from providing drinking water to 15 lakh people in the three districts.
The AP government envisaged to complete the Veligonda project within five years from commencement of construction. However, the project has remained incomplete till date.
Given this background, the detailed compliance report covers the period since inception of the project, with special focus on the execution of works during the last four years (2017–18 to 2020–21).
CAG found major deficiencies in planning and execution of tunnels, reservoir execution / planning, and canal and distributary networks, among others. The audit report recommended that the government crystallise the planning parameters and redesign the components of the project wherever necessary, and execute the project accordingly.
The report recommended that the government identify phase-wise priorities and expedite the execution of the project to derive early benefits. The government should streamline procedures related to the EPC contracts, including deliverables, scope and specification of work to avoid undue advantage to contractors.
CAG said the schedule of payments of all packages should be reviewed to ensure that payments are not frontloaded.