Irrigation Minister Devineni Umamaheswara Rao has asked the International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ICADR) to study the details of 10-year-old projects that are under the purview of the Irrigation Department.
Speaking after the inaugural of a two-day workshop organised by the ICADR at his camp office, the Minister said the department officials must exercise caution against encouraging contractors who first participate in the tender process with enthusiasm but later cause delay to the projects.
Referring to the delay caused in Pulichintala and Thotapalli projects, he said because of timely completion of Pattiseema and Purushothapatnam projects, farmers were able to raise crops. He said despite legal hurdles in the form of court cases and petitions filed in NGT, the government was able to overcome them and complete the projects.
The Centre’s in charge secretary J.L.N. Murthy said the ICADR was an autonomous organisation with its headquarters in New Delhi and regional centres in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, fully funded and supported by the respective State governments. The Chief Justice of India is the chairperson of the ICADR and the Governing Council comprises several eminent personalities drawn from various fields.
He said the purpose of starting this alternative dispute resolution centre in 1995 was to bring down the number of cases in courts. He said efforts were on to popularise the services of this centre through legal services authority in States.
Informing that this was the second workshop the centre was conducting in Amaravati, he said the focus was on imparting training to the Irrigation Department employees on arbitration and mediation. He said delay in court proceedings was a major cause for concern, which needed to be addressed in the most effective way.
