Asked to pay penalty of ₹2.75 crore
Asked to pay penalty of ₹2.75 crore
The Rajasthan government has registered a first information report and imposed a hefty penalty on a construction firm that built a dam as part of the Kumbha Ram Arya lift canal project near Malsisar town in Jhunjhunu district.
The dam breached on Saturday and inundated several areas. Over 50 families evacuated by the district administration are taking shelter in community halls in the town. The National Disaster Response Force teams had rescued 16 persons trapped near the dam.
The Public Health Engineering Department, looking after the water supply works in the State, has placed two executive engineers under suspension. The department’s Principal Secretary, Rajat Kumar Mishra, has appointed a three-member high-level committee to probe the incident.
Dam repair
The FIR was registered at the Malsisar police station on Sunday, charging the firm with negligence. Jhunjhunu Collector Dinesh Kumar Yadav said on Monday that a penalty of ₹2.75 crore was imposed on the firm and it had been asked to repair the dam.
The dam, constructed three months ago, had 80 million litres per day (MLD) of water in terms of supply, stored at a height of 9 metres. The dam’s reservoir, which had a storage capacity of 15 lakh cubic litres, first developed cracks and later breached on Saturday.
Graft angle
The Congress has alleged corruption in the dam’s construction and claimed that the protocol for testing its strength was not followed. Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said it was the State government’s responsibility to ensure good quality construction and demanded strict action against those found guilty.
The lift irrigation project, bringing the Himalayan waters to Jhunjhunu district through the Indira Gandhi Canal, was completed at a cost of ₹588 crore. The target was to supply water to 1,473 villages and Malsisar, Khetri, Jhunjhunu and Sikar towns.
The Rajasthan government has registered a first information report and imposed a hefty penalty on a construction firm that built a dam as part of the Kumbha Ram Arya lift canal project near Malsisar town in Jhunjhunu district.
The dam breached on Saturday and inundated several areas. Over 50 families evacuated by the district administration are taking shelter in community halls in the town. The National Disaster Response Force teams had rescued 16 persons trapped near the dam.
The Public Health Engineering Department, looking after the water supply works in the State, has placed two executive engineers under suspension. The department’s Principal Secretary, Rajat Kumar Mishra, has appointed a three-member high-level committee to probe the incident.
Dam repair
The FIR was registered at the Malsisar police station on Sunday, charging the firm with negligence. Jhunjhunu Collector Dinesh Kumar Yadav said on Monday that a penalty of ₹2.75 crore was imposed on the firm and it had been asked to repair the dam.
The dam, constructed three months ago, had 80 million litres per day (MLD) of water in terms of supply, stored at a height of 9 metres. The dam’s reservoir, which had a storage capacity of 15 lakh cubic litres, first developed cracks and later breached on Saturday.
Graft angle
The Congress has alleged corruption in the dam’s construction and claimed that the protocol for testing its strength was not followed. Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said it was the State government’s responsibility to ensure good quality construction and demanded strict action against those found guilty.
The lift irrigation project, bringing the Himalayan waters to Jhunjhunu district through the Indira Gandhi Canal, was completed at a cost of ₹588 crore. The target was to supply water to 1,473 villages and Malsisar, Khetri, Jhunjhunu and Sikar towns.