Agarwal guidelines for consultants

The municipal commissioner has instructed the consultants to take into account the report of the review committee, which is expected to submit its report within a few days. The five-member committee is headed by Shelkikar, chief engineer of Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran.

Agarwal said the fresh proposal for approval of the general body would be tabled only after a thorough scrutiny of the project report prepared by Kirloskar Consultants. He said the scrutiny of the report would be done by the officials of the corporation.

Agarwal8217;s fresh instructions assume significance since he seems to have taken into account serious objections raised by the political parties in the general body when the proposal was rejected. All political parties had expressed the fear that the existing infrastructure and machinery of the water supply department, on which the corporation has invested crores of rupees, would go waste if the Kirloskar report was acted upon.

The parties have been arguing that the project cost has increased since standardised rates, fixed by the MJP, have not been taken into account. The cost of the project is likely to come down drastically if the fresh report takes into account the report of the review committee, rates of the MJP and maximum use of the existing infrastructure and machinery.