BANGALORE: The Government on Tuesday announced that work on the much-awaited Upper Bhadra Project, to bring water to the parched districts of Chitradurga, Tumkur and Kolar, apart from a couple of taluks in Chikmagalur, would begin in June 2007 and be completed in seven months.

Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy held a meeting with Members of Parliament, ministers, and legislators from these districts, apart from farmers and officials from the Water Resources Department and the Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Ltd., here. Water Resources Minister K.S. Eshwarappa told presspersons later that the nigam would be the implementing agency and the project would be implemented in a package-based programme earmarking Rs. 50 crore for each package. This would ensure that contractors from other States did not monopolise the packages, he said.

Mr. Eshwarappa said it was for the first time that a strict time frame was being introduced to implement an irrigation project. A third party inspection mechanism had been factored in for the first time to oversee quality of work and maintenance.

The independent agency would supervise the quality of work right from the initial stages. The bills of the contractors would be settled only after their work was found satisfactory by the quality maintenance agency.

There are two parts to the project. About Rs. 82 crore had been released for the modernisation of Bhadra canal in the first phase, which had to be completed by December 30. The remaining work being would be implemented simultaneously at an estimated cost of Rs. 389 crore.

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