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dam-l LS: Enormous cost escalation in irrigation projects
THE HINDU, Monday, May 04, 1998
Enormous cost escalation in irrigation projects
Date: 04-05-1998 :: Pg: 06 :: Col: d
By P. Ramiah
BANGALORE, May 3.
The slippages in the targets and Government's inability
to pump in adequate funds for
completion of irrigation projects have resulted in a
big drain on the State's exchequer due to the
escalation of the cost of each project eight to ten
times the original estimates.
The latest report of the Irrigation Department dealing
extensively with performance budgeting
relating to various projects gives an insight into the
chronic slippage in the target and actual
performance both in physical and financial terms.
It is like the Government biting more than it can chew
whether it is Upper Krishna Project or
much older projects like the Tungabhadra, the
Ghataprabha or the Malaprabha.
For instance, the cost of the Stage I of Upper Krishna
Project was estimated to be Rs. 283.65
crores (1976-77 rates). But due to inadequate flow of
funds, the project proceeded at a snail's
pace in the beginning. The project is now expected to
beat the deadline of the year 2000 for
utilising the State's share of Krishna waters. But the
cost of Stage I has touched Rs. 1,071.10
crores as against the original estimate of Rs. 283.65
crores in 1978.
The Stage I covers construction of Alamatti Dam to a
partial height, construction of the
Narayanpur Left Bank Canal to irrigate 4.09 lakh
hectares, construction of Alamatti Left Bank
Canal, including lifting arrangements to irrigate
20,235 hectares, and construction of intake
structures of foreshore lift irrigation schemes of
Alamatti and Narayanpur Reservoir.
The report shows it will take a few more years before
the full irrigation potential is developed.
It is expected that an irrigation potential of about
5,500 hectares will be created this year by
Alamatti Left Bank Canal and about 4,000 hectares in
Alamatti Right Bank Canal. The
Mulawadi West and East canals together are expected to
contribute to an irrigation potential of
18,500 hectares out of about 31,000 hectares when fully
developed.
The Ghataprabha project, another major irrigation work
in the Krishna Basin, is still to be
completed in all respects. It was planned to complete
the project in three stages. The stages I
and II comprising construction of Ghataprabha Left Bank
Canal and construction of Hidkal
Dam across the Ghataprabha near Hidkal village in
Belgaum district to partial height, have been
completed creating an irrigation potential of 1.40
lakhs hectares, but Stage III comprising
works to raise the Hidkal Dam to full height,
construction of Ghataprabha Right Bank Canal ,
lining of the Ghataprabha Left Bank Canal system and
three lift irrigation schemes are yet to be
sanctioned.
Meanwhile, the cost of Stage III, estimated to be Rs.
90.54 crores (at 1975-76 rates) which
was technically cleared by the Planning Commission, has
gone up to Rs. 800 crores at
1995-96 rates. The story of the Malaprabha project is
not different. The project across the
Malaprabha in the Krishna Basin near Manoli village in
Belgaum district is designed to irrigate
2.20 lakhs hectares in Belgaum, Bijapur and Dharwad
districts. The cost of the project was
estimated to be about Rs. 162 crores (at 1976-77
rates). But the revised estimate has boosted it
to Rs. 342 crores, going by 1987 rates.
As against this, an expenditure of Rs. 414.50 crores
had been incurred till March 1997 and
irrigation potential of 1,68,065 hectares had been
created till the end of January 1998. The
Irrigation Department has sought Rs. 72 crores for
1998-99 to accelerate the work on
Malaprabha Left Bank and Right Bank Canals.
The Hippargi barrage is another project whose cost has
gone up by 10 times. The cost was
originally estimated to be Rs. 21.53 crores at 1970-71
rates and it was revised to Rs. 186.70
crores at 1985-86 rates.
But the project has been allowed to languish, the total
expenditure on it till the end of March,
1997 being a mere Rs. 23.76 crores. The Irrigation
Department has sought Rs. 62 crores for
1998-97 and the cost of the project when completed is
bound to be much higher than even the
revised estimated.
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