PANAJI
Power Minister Ramkrishna (Sudin) Dhavlikar on Thursday advocated strict action against engineers of the Public Works Department (PWD) in addition to the contractors for the shabby condition of freshly hot-mixed roads in the State.
Dhavlikar welcomed the decision taken by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to blacklist contractors for substandard work but the minister said engineers too must be held accountable.
"I welcome the Chief Minister's decision to blacklist contractors. However, strict action must also be taken against engineers of the PWD who are lax in discharging their responsibilities," Dhavlikar said while speaking to a media outlet in Ponda about the condition of roads.
Dhavlikar's statement gains significance in the context of him having held the PWD portfolio for several years in multiple governments in the past. Also, before entering mainstream politics, he was among the State's top 'Class I' contractors and has executed several major works.
He said, there are regulations in the PWD regarding quality of work and it is the engineer's job to see that they are implemented. "Engineers have the power to pull up contractors and halt the work if it is not carried out as per the regulations in CPWD manual. Government engineers are equally responsible so strict action should be taken against them," Dhavalikar said.
He said, engineers must act responsibly and not just show up at sites but pay attention to the quality of work being carried out by the contractors.
Government engineers will have to work hard to avoid such situations where roads deteriorate in a short time and ensure that the contractor does work as per the technical parameters of the contract, he added.
He also said engineers should stop playing the role of bosses and show the courage to take action in real-time at the site itself if work is not being executed by the contractor as per the technical parameters.
