All Andhra infra projects to be reviewed by judicial panel

Amaravati: All infrastructure projects in Andhra Pradesh valued Rs 100 crore and above will be reviewed by a judicial commission before inviting tenders.

The YSRCP government on Friday tabled the Andhra Pradesh Infrastructure (Transparency through Judicial Preview) Bill, 2019 in the state Assembly.

According to its provisions, a sitting or retired high court judge will head the commission, which will review all projects including Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects of the value of Rs 100 crore and above to ensure conformity in procedure rules and guidelines.

Tabling the bill, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy said that the government was determined to create world-class infrastructure in an efficient manner while following the principles of equal opportunity, cost and quality consciousness. This would ensure optimum utilization of public resources in public interest, use of efficient methodologies such as reverse tendering, he said.

According to the statement of objects and reasons tabled with the bill, the government endeavours to fast track infrastructure development with transparency.

The government will submit all documents related to the project the commission. The commission will place the tender related documents in public domain for a week and invite suggestions.

After preview and discussions, the judge may suggest modifications which will be binding on the government.

The bill provides for making necessary staff and relevant experts available to the commission to discharge its functions. Technical or other committees may also be constituted to assist the judge.

During the debate on the bill, Finance Minister B. Rajendranath Reddy alleged that there was corruption and irregularities in awarding contracts by the previous TDP government. He said the previous government resorted to corruption in the name of Swiss Challenge.

He termed the bill a historic move by Jagan Mohan Reddy government to root out corruption.