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Haveri: The Karnataka state government is likely to terminate the contract with MARG Limited, which had taken up the development of Ballari airport under the a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
A team of the Karnataka State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (KSIIDC) has submitted a report regarding the poor progress of work at the site and recommended terminating the contract with the company. The KSIIDC technical team, which visited the site along with the district administration, said that not a single person of MARG was at the work site during the visit. “We have submitted the report along with a recommendation to terminate the contract with MARG Limited to the government and we are waiting for the government’s decision,” a KSIIDC official said.
The state government had awarded the contract to MARG, a Chennai-based company. It was given 900 acres in 2010 to make the Srikrishnadevaraya Airport, 15 km from Ballari city. The estimated cost was Rs 330 crore.
Work started late because some farmers refused to vacate their land.
“The MARG Limited had allotted some work in the airport to Vijay Infra Project that was worth Rs 44.85 crore in 2021, but this work also was not done because MARG did not release the grants,” a source said.
The company has halted construction at the airport since the last two years and failed to meet deadlines. Despite frequent warnings, the company has yet to respond to the government.
MARG Limited was also absent from progress review meetings in Ballari. For all these reasons, the government is likely to terminate the contract soon. The dispute between MARG Limited and Vijay Infra Project, which was sub-contracted for some of the work for the project, has impacted the progress of the airport, sources said.
TOI tried to contact authorities in MARG, but they were not reachable.
When contacted, BH Anil Kumar, the additional chief secretary to the government in the department of public enterprises, said, “The government will issue a notice to MARG Limited regarding their work. Officials at the KSIIDC and the district administration have submitted the report to the government regarding the delay in work last year. “After their (MARG) reply, we will decide regarding this,” Kumar said.
A team of the Karnataka State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (KSIIDC) has submitted a report regarding the poor progress of work at the site and recommended terminating the contract with the company. The KSIIDC technical team, which visited the site along with the district administration, said that not a single person of MARG was at the work site during the visit. “We have submitted the report along with a recommendation to terminate the contract with MARG Limited to the government and we are waiting for the government’s decision,” a KSIIDC official said.
The state government had awarded the contract to MARG, a Chennai-based company. It was given 900 acres in 2010 to make the Srikrishnadevaraya Airport, 15 km from Ballari city. The estimated cost was Rs 330 crore.
Work started late because some farmers refused to vacate their land.
“The MARG Limited had allotted some work in the airport to Vijay Infra Project that was worth Rs 44.85 crore in 2021, but this work also was not done because MARG did not release the grants,” a source said.
The company has halted construction at the airport since the last two years and failed to meet deadlines. Despite frequent warnings, the company has yet to respond to the government.
MARG Limited was also absent from progress review meetings in Ballari. For all these reasons, the government is likely to terminate the contract soon. The dispute between MARG Limited and Vijay Infra Project, which was sub-contracted for some of the work for the project, has impacted the progress of the airport, sources said.
TOI tried to contact authorities in MARG, but they were not reachable.
When contacted, BH Anil Kumar, the additional chief secretary to the government in the department of public enterprises, said, “The government will issue a notice to MARG Limited regarding their work. Officials at the KSIIDC and the district administration have submitted the report to the government regarding the delay in work last year. “After their (MARG) reply, we will decide regarding this,” Kumar said.
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