CAG flags lapses in work on Shahpur Kandi project

Chandigarh : Envisioned to be operational by 2015, the Shahpur Kandi dam project, which was meant to boost irrigation and power generation, remains far from complete with the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) flagging deficiencies in the execution of the project. There is a shortfall of 63 per cent in physical progress in the construction of the main dam and 54 per cent in construction of the main canal, the CAG observed in its latest report laid in Parliament this week.
The work on the head regulator and connectivity is short by 41 per cent and 38 per cent, respectively.
“This not only indicates poor implementation, but has the risk of further delay and cost overruns. It is noted that only Rs 26.04 crore had been spent against the total project cost of Rs 2,285.81 crore as of March 2017,” the CAG remarked.
Located in Gurdaspur district between the Ranjit Sagar Dam and Madhopur headworks, the project will have a 55.5-m high dam with two power houses with an installed capacity of 206 MW and an irrigation potential of 37,173 hectares.
It is part of the Centre’s scheme of national projects launched in 2008 that identified 16 major water resource development and irrigation projects under the accelerated irrigation benefits programme. However, only five of the 16 projects are under implementation. Though a total of Rs 3,299.12 crore has been spent on the projects so far, the scheme’s fundamental objective remained unachieved due to various constraints and hurdles, the CAG has observed.