With less than 75 days left, the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) authorities are confident that the multi-crore JICA-aided drinking water project can be commissioned on the coming 'Vishu' day, as decided. But, it appears that all is not well between the KWA and the French-based Degremont Limited, which has been entrusted with the construction of the intake well and the 174 MLD (million litre per day) water treatment plant (WTP) and its operation.

Degremont says that the KWA authorities are least concerned about settling the company’s claim for cost escalation, which has occurred not due to its fault. Though the estimate for the WTP and intake well was fixed at `110 crore, the company claims that it has already spent close to `150 crore and would require at least `20 crore for completing the remaining work.

Says Arvind Kumar Sharma, manager-projects and construction with Degremont Limited, "The work was awarded way back in 2006 and the completion period was 21 months. Now, almost eight years have passed and the work is yet to be completed. The labour rates, fuel and material costs went up like anything over this period. Then, the labour rate was below `200. Now, it has almost touched the `500 mark. The price of one packet of cement, which was around `160 then, has now doubled. The situation is no different as far as fuel prices, material costs and office expenses are concerned. You can simply imagine the financial burden the project has caused to us.’’

The procurement of sand, to be used as filter media in the WTP, from Gujarat is cited by the company as the latest incident of cost escalation. "When the project commenced, we were told that sand would be made available from the state itself. But, now, sand is not available not only in Kerala but also in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. So, we have to source 250 tonnes of sand from Gujarat, around 2,400 km away, pumping additional money of around `4 crore,’’ says Sharma.

Having executed various similar drinking water projects across the country and abroad, Degremont officials maintain that the company has been pumping money despite limited funds as the work in Kozhikode is very specific due to the uniqueness of the method being adopted for the construction of the 'floating' intake well in the Peruvannamoozhi dam near Kuttiadi. Now, he adds, "Everybody thinks that the work is about to finish and pay scant regard to our genuine demands. We could have stopped the work till our demands were met. But, we are fully committed to completing the work. We hope the authorities will understand the constraints and provide the necessary financial support. We are not seeking a margin, but  the expenses which we have incurred for the project should be met.’’

JICA Project Director K G Harshan says, "We appreciate the dedication shown by Degremont in implementing the work despite difficulties and their demands are reasonable to a certain extent. However, the final decision to sanction claims for cost escalation should come from the government level.’’

The project lagged due to the delay in land acquisition and finding an appropriate location for the construction of the intake well for the WTP. The authorities were able to identify the location for the intake well only in 2012, three years after it was supposed to be completed.