The issue of constructing a cofferdam as part of the Polavaram project reverted to square one with Sanjay Kholapurkar, Officer-on-Special Duty to Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari, reportedly casting his doubts on the efficacy of the upper cofferdam and calling for its detailed feasibility study.
During his visit to the project site on Saturday, Mr. Kholapurkar stated that had he known about the upper cofferdam proposal in advance, he would have opposed it in the initial stage itself.
“Going by the size of Godavari, we are not going to advise the construction of a cofferdam here,” he said, adding that Mr. Gadkari would visit the project in the first week of January and try to remove some roadblocks.
Mr. Kholapurkar is said to have told the officials to wait for the report of the committee of the National Hydro Power Corporation to take further decision on the cofferdam and other components of the multi-purpose project while stepping up the pace of concrete works.
He also said design issues, if any, should be sorted out with the Central Water Commission.
Officials of the State government urged Mr. Kholapurkar to see how the claims of the contractors for the extra works being done by them were to be settled and that this has become a bone of contention for the State government.
They sought information on inviting fresh tenders under Section 60 C, to which Mr. Kholapurkar replied that the proposal was being examined.
All eyes are thus on Mr. Gadkari’s visit and the stand he takes on the entire project.
