JOIN USGovt may scrap annuity system for road works
Public Works Minister Dr H C Mahadevappa on Friday admitted that contractors are not showing an interest to take up road works under the public-private partnership (PPP) and that government would like to move away from the present annuity system.
Under the annuity system, a contractor has to invest money for road construction. The contractor is then reimbursed from the government in a phased manner.
It is also the responsibility of contractors to maintain the road during the contract period. The first road to be developed under the annuity basis, is the Bangalore-Mysore express highway.
The minister, while replying to a host of questions by members in the Legislative Assembly on the poor condition of State highways in many districts, said that 18 works as part of nine packages has been selected under the Karnataka State Highways Improvement Project (KSHIP) II. The total road to be developed is 3,745 kms at a cost of Rs 1,498 crore.
B S Yeddyurappa (KJP) said 121 kms have to be developed under the Kship II connecting Shimoga-Davangere and Haveri. The stretch has to pass through seven assembly constituencies. This World Bank-aided project is yet to begin even though the process of land acquisition has been completed. There should be no further delay as the costs will go up, he added.
Similar views were expressed by some members of Congress too.
Mahadevappa said that the Shimoga-Haveri state highway improvement has been posed for the PPP annuity system. International competitive bidding (ICB) tenders have been invited. Bidders had quoted prices at least five times more than the rate prescribed under the national guidelines for the annuity basis.
Bid rejected
The bids were rejected in May. “The World Bank has been requested to call new tenders,” he added.
N Cheluvarayaswamy (JD-S) said that the road connecting Sira to Mayasandra is in a terrible condition, while P M Narendra Swamy (Cong) said that sand mining lorries have done severe damage to roads in Malavalli taluk. He suggested that the government must use royalty collected from mine owners for road maintenance. He pointed out that the road has not been repaired in last 15 years.
The minister, while admitting that the road in Malavalli needs repair, said sand mining has so far fetched Rs 13.82 crore royalty from sand mining contractors in Malavalli taluk.
Mahadevappa told Pratap Gowda Patil (Cong) that tenders were invited twice for the development of the Sindanur-Lingasugur toll road, but that there has been a poor response to take up the work under the PPP. “Now, fresh tenders have been invited,” he said.