Gosikhurd project cost revised to Rs 5659.10 cr

Nagpur, Nov 9 (UNI) The ambitious Gosikhurd irrigation project in Bhandara district in Vidarbha region in Maharashtra will cost Rs 5659.10 crore as per the revised estimate, an increase of nearly 15.21 times over the original cost.

The revision, the second since the project was launched in 1981, had been granted administrative approval by the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC), according to an official press release here.

The estimate had to be revised because of the changes in the schedule of rates, the increase in the expenditure on land acquisition, technical improvements and new provisions. The estimate included Rs 5107.73 crore on the project itself, and Rs 551.34 crore on associated works, it said.

The estimated cost for the project as per the schedule of rates for 1982-83 was Rs 372.22 crore. The project cost was revised to Rs 2091.13 crore subsequent to the revision in the schedule of rates in 1995-96.

When completed, the Gosikhurd irrigation project will irrigate 1.90 lakh hectares of land in Nagpur, Bhandara and Chandrapur districts, and stock 1459.54 million cubic metres of water, the release added.

UNI