Guwahati: A proposal to make direct payment to vendors and sub-contractors to accelerate work on Guwahati water supply project has been made.
The insolvency resolution professional appointed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for Iragavarapu Venkata Reddy Construction Limited (IVRCL), the company hired to set up water distribution system under the project, recently wrote to the managing director-cum-project director of the project implementation unit (PIU) of the Guwahati water supply project to consider the option.
The letter by the insolvency resolution professional was issued after the PIU warned termination of the IVRCL's bid if it could not accelerate work on the project on account of being under corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP). Government sources said Dispur had allotted Rs 800 crore to IVRCL for the Japan International Cooperation Agency-assisted project.
"IVRCL is under corporate insolvency resolution process under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. It may please be noted that IVRCL being in CIRP shall not be understood as declared insolvent," the letter said.
The NCLT had issued insolvency notice to IVRCL in February 2018 after it could not return around Rs 600 crore in loans, taken for various works in the country, to various nationalised banks. The company will run under the supervision of Insolvency Resolution Professionals for six months from February. After this period, the NCLT will decide the action to be taken against the company.
The deputy general manager of the Assam sector of IVRCL, Mrinal Bhattacharya, told The Telegraph, "The notice was issued after our assets could not cover the amount of loans we have taken. We have to wait until the period of 180 days is over. Then it will finalise if we can continue the work or not."
IVRCL sources said the government had allotted work of Rs 210 crore to the company for the project. They said 70 per cent work of setting up transmission line for the project had been completed. After the insolvency notice, the project work had not progressed, they added.
