JnNURM, a mission unaccomplished

Six-and-a-half years later, the mission still remains unaccomplished. The prestigious JnNURM projects in Bangalore are marred by delays and huge cost overruns. Only 20 of the total 53 projects have been completed so far. A majority of the pending projects are unlikely to meet the deadline of March 2012 — about six months from now.

This is not all. There is a whiff of a major scam with the third party inspection of tender documents pertaining to stormwater drains (SWD) remodelling project finding glaring discrepancies. Some of the key tender documents are also missing in BBMP, and the local body has no clue where exactly a large portion of the Rs 415-crore worth of SWD remodelling work has been implemented.

Bangaloreans were eagerly looking forward to the early completion of underpasses (seven), grade separators (two) and flyovers (two) taken up under the JnNURM to decongest vehicular traffic. But only five of them have been completed, though all the 11 projects were approved in 2006-07. As these projects have been taken up at busy traffic junctions, a delay in their implementation has only added to the traffic woes.

For instance, the work order for the Rs 22.61-crore CNR Rao Circle underpass near Malleswaram was issued in 2008, but so far only about 37pc of the work on the project has been completed. Traffic flow from Malleswaram 18th Cross towards Yeshwantpur and Mekhri Circle has been badly affected, because of the delay in the implementation of the project. Of the 20 completed projects, 17 of them, including traffic-related projects of three underpasses — Malleswaram Circle, Ring Road-Hennur Banaswadi Junction, Magadi Road-West of Chord Road Junction, two flyovers (Iblur and Agara Junctions), and 10 TTMCs — have seen a cost escalation to the tune of Rs 200 crore.

The BBMP and the BDA, the BMTC and the BWSSB, which are the beneficiary local agencies, have to bear the escalated cost, as the Centre won’t share it. Under JnNURM, the cost of the infrastructure projects is shared in the ratio of 35 (Govt of India): 15 (Govt of Karnataka): 50 (ULBs/beneficiary agencies).

The BWSSB has literally dashed the hopes of the citizens of the erstwhile seven CMCs and one TMC, where underground drainage (UGD) projects have been taken up. Though these projects - the total cost of which is about Rs 700 crore - were cleared in 2007-08, not even 20 per cent of the work has been completed yet. These projects, according to BWSSB, will be completed between 2013 and 2014. None of these places has the UGD system and residents, as a result, are either letting out sewer water into the nearby tanks, or store it in soak pits, which are cleaned once in three months.
Stink of scam

The BBMP, which claimed to have implemented the SWD projects worth Rs 415 crore so far, was not able to provide the related tender documents for evaluation. Then, the KUIDFC officially lodged a complaint against the BBMP with the State government. At a high-level meeting convened by Chief Secretary S V Ranganath on March 4 this year, KUIDFC stated that “the BBMP has not been able to submit the requisite documents related to the project to the National Consultancy for Planning and Engineering (NCPE). Hence, NCPE has not been able to prepare the construction stage report, which is mandatory to get funds released from the Centre.”

Besides, the KUIDFC informed the government that the BBMP has taken up additional SWD works to the tune of Rs 195 crore without the nod of the State Level Sanctioning Committee (SLSC) and awarded the tender in 215 packages.

“When the entire SWD works were tendered in 15 packages, what was the need for tendering the additional works in 215 packages is to be substantiated by the BBMP,” KUIDFC Managing Director Arvind Srivastava stated at an SLSC meeting on April 30, 2011.
With the KUIDFC finding serious lapses in implementing the SWD project, Chief Secretary S V Ranganath directed BBMP Commissioner H Siddaiah to initiate strict action against the erring officials, besides providing necessary documents to NCPE.

The chief secretary also directed the NCPE to conduct a thorough study of all records and submit a detailed report on the action to be taken. The NCPE submitted its report, noting its observations, to the KUIDFC on May 9, 2011. But so far, no action has come forth.
Sources said the alleged SWD scam was only the tip of the iceberg. More skeletons would tumble out of the cupboard if a probe is conducted into the already implemented projects. The independent review and monitoring agency was appointed in 2009, almost three years after the launch of JnNURM. By then, many projects were implemented and several were in the completion stage.

Despite allegations of irregularities, BBMP has revised the detailed project report (DPR) for the SWD project, jacking up the total project cost from the original Rs 643 crore to Rs 951 crore. The reasons cited by BBMP for the DPR revision are insufficient land and non-cooperation of other civic agencies. The Centre has already approved the revised DPR, and the State Cabinet is yet to clear it.

P M Raghunandan