VIJAYAWADA:
Irrigation expert and policy analyst and Andhra Pradesh Samagra Adhyayana Vedika convener T. Lakshminarayana has urged the Andhra Pradesh government to abolish the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract system, calling it a deeply flawed mechanism that enables large-scale misappropriation of public funds under the pretext of irrigation development. it is a “systematic route for institutionalised corruption” that is looting public wealth in the name of irrigation development, he said.
In a press release on Wednesday (July 9, 2025), Mr. Lakshminarayana said the EPC model has its origins in the regime of former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy. The method was introduced under the justification that government engineering departments lacked the capacity to handle large-scale irrigation projects under the Jalayagnam initiative. However, over the time, the model had evolved into a tool that sidelined the State engineering departments and handed full control of design, material procurement, and construction to large contractors, allowing them to operate unchecked.
‘EPC weakens role of dept. engineers’
The EPC system weakened the role of the Irrigation Department’s engineers and enabled a cartel of contractors to dominate public works. “Many of these contractors started small and now control projects worth tens of thousands of crores. Some even made it into Parliament and state legislatures by pumping hundreds of crores into elections. Everyone knows it,” he stated.
The EPC model, far from benefiting farmers, has only served to enrich big contractors and their political patrons. “Projects have turned into money plants for ruling elites, while canals remain dry and farmers wait endlessly,” he said, pointing out that many mega projects have been stuck for decades despite ballooning budgets. He cited the Telugu Ganga, Handri-Neeva, Galeru-Nagari, Veligonda, and Vamsadhara Phase I & II among others as examples of this disastrous trend.
Mr. Lakshminarayana cautioned that the proposed Polavaram–Banakacherla Lift Irrigation Scheme — designed under the same EPC framework— is deeply flawed and riddled with irregularities. “Now we hear that the government is planning a hybrid model worth ₹81,900 crore involving State, central, and financial institution funding, with the contractor also investing. This raises even more red flags,” he said.
Rumours of introducing PPP (Public-Private-People Partnership) in the irrigation sector are also doing the rounds, he added, calling it another layer of privatisation and potential exploitation.
Published – July 09, 2025 01:36 pm IST
