The Times of India                03.06.2013

Maharashtra: BMC to curb engineers' discretionary powers

MUMBAI: The BMC wants its engineers to submit declaration forms about the shelf life of projects before starting work. The move is aimed at curbing engineers' discretionary powers and making them more accountable for the projects they undertake.

"At the start of a project, engineers will have to declare its shelf life. While filling out the declaration form, they will be provided with a masterlist of items required for projects and they will have to choose items needed for their project from it," said a civic official. "Once the engineers select the items, they will have to prepare the project estimate accordingly. Public money will not be wasted on projects that are not meant to last long."

The BMC has also drawn up a checklist for each type of work -from laying of roads to construction of buildings and development of gardens-to avoid cost escalations in projects. Once an engineer enters the name of the project in the system, the checklist will pop up and s/he will have to ensure that all points are covered before preparing the project estimate.

"This practice will ensure that engineers do not seek funds later or revise costs saying they had forgotten to account for a particular item while preparing the project estimate," said another civic official. "This will also help junior engineers plan projects on their own without being dependent on their seniors."

Till now, the estimated cost of a project was worked out on the basis of 2009 market rates. The BMC has now revised the rates to match the current market prices.

Yet another highlight of the system is that the BMC has introduced a sheet where engineers will have to fill out the results of quality check tests done on products and material being used by the contractors.

The number of tests to be carried out by civic officials is dependent on hierarchy. While senior civic officials might only have to just undertake visual, junior engineers may need to do carry out sample testing also.

The declaration form is a new feature of the revised schedule of rates (SOR). The changes will be incorporated in the BMC's SAP (financial management) system in a month's time.