While reviewing the status of the road projects in the state executed by various works departments on Thursday, Chief Minister Pema Khandu raised a few pertinent points. He pointed out that “most of the DPRs prepared by departmental engineers always tend to be on the higher side of actual cost of the project.” Khandu also advised the secretaries and the chief engineers to “physically visit the work-in-progress sites once a month.” The CM must be appreciated for raising these two important points. The preparation of DPRs on a higher level is a serious concern.
For a resource-crunched state like ours, every penny matters. Therefore, DPRs should be prepared keeping the actual cost in mind. Further, CM Khandu’s advice to the secretaries and chief engineers to visit the work sites once a month is commendable. Often these officers fail to visit the sites and mostly stay put in their offices in the capital region. This gives a free hand to the site engineers to manipulate the projects as per their whims and fancies. They collaborate with the contractors and compromise with the work quality. This badly affects the outcome of the projects. Sometimes the officials release funds even if the work is not completed. Later, when contractors fail to complete projects even after receiving bills, the state government incurs massive loss.