Grounding of works pertaining to restoration of minor irrigation tanks project taken up by the State government is likely to be delayed till mid-January against the initial plans to commence work at least by the year end.
Official sources stated that the file pertaining to category-wise tender sanction powers to engineers at different levels was sent to the Finance Department for approval. Tenders for work would be called only after the approval and the process is likely to take some time. Filing tenders, opening bids and giving technical approvals would also require time.
According to a GO issued last month, the government has enhanced powers to chief engineers for approval of tenders for works with an estimated cost of up to Rs. 4 crore from the previous Rs. 2 crore. Similarly, the powers of superintending engineers were increased to Rs. 1 crore from Rs. 50 lakh and that of executive engineers up to Rs. 50 lakh from the previous Rs. 10 lakh. Meanwhile, eight audio songs were shortlisted for promotion and propagation of the project in rural areas. A couple of songs were also understood to have been penned by Chief Minister himself.
