Srinagar: The world-bank aided upgrade and revamping of 49 dewatering pump stations project, set up with an aim to save Srinagar from water logging and urban flooding, hangs in limbo.
The J&K Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA) and Srinagar Municipal Corporation had started the much-hyped project after the 2014 floods that had ravaged the whole of Kashmir especially the summer capital Srinagar.
However, three years down the line as the costs on the key upgradation works of the project have escalated, the project appears to have been orphaned as both the SMC and ERA keep shooting letters to each other regarding the escalated payments to “complete the project”
In a latest related development, SMC Commissioner has written a letter dated 27/08/2022, to the CEO ERA wherein he has flagged several concerns maintaining that the delay in completion at this stage will have detrimental impact on the health as well as the safety of citizens in the city.
The letter, a copy of which is with Rising Kashmir, further reads that the “completion of the work on these dewatering stations is extremely essential to enable the city to deal with water-logging and urban flooding.”
“Further delay may also render further burden in terms of more cost escalation as well as disuse and damage to the already installed equipment and the build up structures since the unfinished work will render them in disuse,” reads the letter from SMC commissioner to CEO, ERA.
Citing the urgency and critical importance of the matter, the SMC Commissioner has requested that the Programme Management Unit (PMU) which is ERA to release the funds so that the liabilities could be cleared and the sub-project completed.
However, J&K ERA CEO Syed Abid Rasheed Shah declined to comment saying “SMC Commissioner is implementing it so he can talk on it”, he told Rising Kashmir.
Asked the SMC Commissioner has already written a letter to you (CEO ERA), Shah said,” Only SMC Commissioner can tell about it,” he said and refused to comment further.
Despite repeated calls, the SMC Commissioner Athar Amir Khan didn’t respond to the phone calls.
However, Superintending Engineer (SE) Drainage, SMC, Abdul Khaliq Qureshi said 40 deterring pumps are completed as on the date. “Three pumps are pending minor works and the works on the four dewatering pumps are still under progress. The two pumps have been dropped and won’t be installed at all due to some land issues,” he told Rising Kashmir.
Qureshi further said the repairing and maintenance has to be done by the agency. “During the execution process there was a delay that led to escalation in the project cost from the sanctioned 102 Crore to 123 Crore rupees. So there is a cost escalation of 21 crore which is a variation. Out of 49 dewatering stations, 40 dewatering stations are functional. World bank teams have visited. The work has been completed by the contractor. Now the liability is in crores and the contractor wants the money so that he can complete the pending works,” he said.
According to Qureshi, somewhere the pending work is 50 percent and somewhere it is 20 percent pending. “Now ERA writes to us (SMC) to clear the variation dues and we write to them. This has delayed the work,” he said.
PRO ERA, Mohammad Azhar said SMC is the project implementation agency and ERA is a PMU. “We have already funded the project. And I am not aware of any further correspondence,” he said.
