Imphal, April 01: Thanks to the failure of the consultant agency to stick to the guidelines laid down by the Expert Committee while preparing the Detailed Project Report for the Nambul River Front and Naga Nullah under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewable Mission, the same could not be included in the budget allocation for the 2007-2008 fiscal.

Disclosing this to The Sangai Express an official source from the IFCD said that the Detailed Project Report (DPR) was prepared by the consultant agency, LEA Associates, South Asia Pvt Ltd.

There were no loopholes in the DPR prepared by the said Consultant in respect of Naga Nullah, said the source.

However it came to light that the DPR for Nambul River Front did not stick to the specifications laid down by the Expert Committee and hence a new DPR has been sought, said the source and explained that this is the reason why the projects have not been included in the 2007-08 fiscal.

The source explained that the first phase of the Nambul River Front will cover the distance from Maharani bridge to Keishampat bridge.

Before the DPR was prepared an Expert Committee comprising of three retired Chief Engineers was formed, said the source and added that the Chairman of the Committee was E Benoykumar, former CE of PWD.

The other two were retired CEs of IFCD L Manihar and K Ibotomba.

The Expert Committee took two weeks to study the water volume of Nambul river before submitting their final report, said the source and added that the Committee noted that the flood discharge from Nambul river, 50 years hence, would be to the tune of 276 cubic metre per second.

The report of the Expert Committee was also accepted by the Central Water Commission, said the source and added that the Penal Consultants appointed by the Centre had also accepted the report of the Expert Committee.

Despite the endorsements given to the findings of the Committee, the DPR report did not reflect it, said the source and expressed apprehension that if corrective measures are not taken up soon, then the money allotted for the projects may be recalled.

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