The Hindu : New Delhi News : Who is answerable for delayed projects?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Sep 25, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Who is answerable for delayed projects?

By Sujay Mehdudia

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 24. If there is anything missing from the foundation stones of the much-delayed flyovers and underpass projects here in the Capital, it is the line stating the fact that the project has been delayed for several months and has a cost overrun factor. In the age of quality control and cost efficiency, the Delhi Government seems to be happily shelling out those extra bucks instead of penalising the contractors or officers involved in the execution of the project.

While the inefficiency with which such projects have been executed has cost the public exchequer crores of rupees -- not to mention the endless nightmare caused to commuters and pedestrians -- the Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, and the Ministers of the ruling Congress Government seem to have no pangs of guilt while inaugurating them. And while there is no end to the delays, observers feel that the least the Government could do is to dispense with the ceremonial rituals when throwing open the flyovers for traffic and keep it a low profile affair. "In order to embarrass the agency and officials concerned with the project, notes should be made in their Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs) indicating their complacency in delay in completing the project and cost overruns. This would lead to much more transparency, efficiency and also put the concerned official to shame," remarked a senior official.

Interestingly, despite repeated fingers pointed at the inefficiency and corruption prevailing in the working of the Public Works Department in execution of not only these projects but also several other infrastructure projects, there is hardly any effort to punish the corrupt or make the guilty fall in line. The unending delays have failed to wake up the Sheila Dikshit Government as inefficiency continues to thrive in the PWD and the Delhi State Industrial Development Corporation (DSIDC), another organisation involved in infrastructure projects. In fact, an accusing finger has been time and again pointed at the heads of the engineering divisions of PWD and DSIDC but no step has been initiated to repatriate them to their parent cadre in Central Public Works Department (CPWD) from where majority of the engineers in PWD come.

The situation is no different in DSIDC. Even the directions of the DSIDC Board have been given a go-by by the strong official-contractor nexus that prevails there. For instance, a resolution was passed by the DSIDC nearly one-and-half years ago that a particular chief engineer, who has been entrenched in the organisation at one place for years together, should be immediately replaced with a more professionally and technically strong person. However, this order of the DSIDC Board has still not been carried out.

Interestingly, this very particular chief engineer has been recommended by the Industry Minister, Mangat Ram Singhal, and the DSIDC Managing Director, Jalaj Srivastava, for going to United States on a tour to study the working of the Central Effluent Treatment Plants, when those under construction have been facing unending delays and bogged down by inefficient execution.

Take another instance. The PWD which is executing the Britania Chowk flyover on Ring Road in North-West Delhi, went back on its promise to Ms. Dikshit to complete the project before time and has already run into two extensions. Surprisingly, no official has been pulled up or the contractor concerned penalised for the delay. The case is no different with the B-Avenue flyover near Panchsheel Road, the Khel Gaon Marg flyover, the flyover on the marginal Bund Road adjoining Pushta Road in East Delhi. All these projects stand delayed by several months. Things are no different in the Delhi Development Authority. The Road Over Bridge (ROB) at Pankha Road on the Delhi-Rewari Road, the G.T. Road flyover on Road No. 66 near Seelampur in East Delhi, the grid separator flyover on the Delhi-Ghaziabad stretch and the flyover on Joseph Tito Marg, all of them have over-shot their deadlines but to no avail.

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