The question raised by Porvorim MLA Rohan Khaunte on the exorbitant fees paid to consultants of the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) could come back to haunt the BJP. Speaking in the Assembly, Khaunte rightly pointed out that the GSIDC was paying out consultancy fees for mundane and routine jobs like hot mixing of roads, fitting interlocking pavers, building washrooms etc. So far, the government has paid out a whopping Rs 48 crore to consultants, which is nearly five times more than the budget of the Rural Development Agency. The GSIDC was formed over a decade ago as an indirect way of splitting the Public Works Department and with the aim of speeding up infrastructure development. The idea then was a
new organization was required since the PWD was like a behemoth
hampered by bureaucratic red tape and lengthy procedures.
The first task of the GSIDC was to create infrastructure
for the international film festival which was held in 2004. It
was literally like a special purpose
vehicle. Ideally, it should be doing
the heavy lifting, that is, overseeing
large projects and the ones that
require quick implementation. Instead,
it is saddled with minor work
like hot mixing of roads, electrical
work and building pavements.
Project consultants have a role
to play in infrastructure development,
especially in areas where expert knowledge is required.
Although the role is not clearly defined, the consultant would
come in at the concept stage and guide the project through all
phases of construction. Normally a consultant would get involved
at the pre-construction stage right up to post construction.
For instance, the government is forced to hire a consultant
for construction of the Mopa airport because none of its
departments has expertise in that area. When the government
decided to host the international film festival consultants were
essential because no one had any knowledge of what a multiplex
should look like. This also means that consultants are not
required for jobs where institutional memory exists.
A perusal of jobs given to consultants by GSIDC clearly shows
that the rule has been abused to grant favours to a few. One can
hardly imagine why a consultant is required to hot mix a road
or to lay pavers, a job that can be undertaken by a contractor
and supervised by a GSIDC engineer. If at all the corporation
is short of staff, as it claims, it could have leaned on the PWD
for expertise and manpower. The PWD has successfully built
roads, culverts, bridges and buildings for the government. It
has an institutional memory that spans five decades and hence
one is inclined to believe that fees paid to consultants is nothing
but a scam which needs to be thoroughly investigated.
