Pakal Dul tunnel project junked over inflated cost

Arteev Sharma

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Tribune News Service

Jammu, February 13

Under scanner for corruption charges, it has now come to the fore that the cost of constructing two head race tunnels at 1,000-MW Pakal Dul hydroelectric project in Kishtwar district was inflated by 40 per cent that led to the cancellation of contract by Governor Satya Pal Malik in October last year.

The project, being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 8,112.12 crore, is one of the major power venture being constructed by State Power Development Corporation, NHPC and Power Trading Corporation of India along with the Chenab Valley Power Projects Private Ltd (CVPPPL).

“The Pakal Dul project is being executed under three packages — building a power house, dam for storage and tunnel package. The tunnel contract has been cancelled by the Governor because its cost was inflated by 40 per cent,” a senior officer of NHPC, recently disclosed at a seminar at the Jammu University. The officer, however, didn’t share more details about the contract but dropped enough hints it was being awarded at a higher cost.

According to the global e-tender floated by the CVPPPL, the bidders were asked to deposit earnest money of Rs 10 crore indicating that the total cost of the contract was around Rs 500 crore.

While the executing agencies remained tightlipped over the issue, the Chenab valley projects had cancelled the tendering process for design and construction of two circular shaped head race tunnels of 7,350 m each to be excavated by two new independents tunnel boring machines and associated works on November 6 last year.