Ten years on, storm-water drains in Vijayawada remain incomplete

The storm-water drain project, which was launched in 2016 and supposed to have been completed in 36 months, remains incomplete in the city. Notably, the Vijayawada Municipal council, during its recent budget meeting, rejected a proposal to complete it under Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.

The government had received ₹461.04 crore under ‘One Time Special Finance Assistance’ from the Centre for the project, which was undertaken by the Public Health and Municipal Engineering Department (PHMED) through the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) model. The contract went to Larsen and Toubro (L&T), which launched the construction on September 1, 2016. The plan was to build major and minor drains for 443.77 km across the city. The initial 36 month agreement, however, was later extended till 2022.

Work began to slow down in 2019 before it was stalled midway by the contractor in 2022 owing to non-payment of dues. By this time, L&T had completed 59% of the project, worth ₹199.51 crore.

The dues, ₹25.97 crore, are yet to be cleared by the State government, and the half-finished drains have become death traps for children. While the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) closed the drains that killed children, many others remain open.

Renewed push

On February 10, the VMC proposed a Public Private Partnership model to take up the remaining 41% work. Out of ₹600 crore proposed for the project, the VMC’s share is ₹150 crore, Capital Region Development Authority’s share is ₹150 crore and concessionaire’s, ₹300 crore.

But the council rejected the annuity model for the proposal, saying the burden would fall on the corporation. “Where will it get the funds from?” the corporators asked, implying that the burden would ultimately fall on the public.

According to an official from the PHMED, out of ₹461.04 crore received from the Centre in 2016, ₹252.35 crore is yet to be spent. To call for fresh tenders, however, the department needs permission from the government and the dues to the previous construction firm have to be cleared. “We have sent revised estimates of around ₹501 crore (including the ₹252.35 crore) to complete the remaining work. We have to wait for the government approval before we go ahead,” the official said seeking anonymity.