PWD to engage 'highway & building project monitors'

In a bid to ensure quick execution of projects by maintaining proper quality, the state Public Works Department (PWD) has decided to engage "highway and building project monitors".

Since there is not enough manpower with that expertise with the department, it has been decided to engage retired graduate civil engineers who have worked in the post of superintending engineers in the state or Central PWD or any other public sector undertakings.

This is the first time when separate "monitors" for supervising the work of both state highways and buildings are going to be engaged. Moreover, the "monitors" will be having their own jurisdiction of work. There will be at least two such officials in each of the three divisions — North, South and West — of the state PWD.

The north division comprises districts starting from Cooch Behar to Malda while those from Murshidabad to South 24-Parganas comes under the south division and the west division comprises districts from Burdwan to Purulia. According to sources at Nabanna, the work of the "project monitors" will be to ensure fast execution of work and quality checks. They will be reporting directly to engineers-in-charge. Besides maintaining progress and quality of a project, they will also have to keep a tab on the process taken up while implementing a project.

One of their main tasks would be identification of the weak spots of a project and to give necessary advice for its rectification. He or she will also have to give satisfactory certificates after completion of a project. A year ago, a set of such monitors were engaged just to look after the execution of work of roads and they were not posted in respective divisions. Senior officials of the state PWD took interviews of some of the retired graduate civil engineers on Friday to prepare the panel of the selected candidates. Usually, the PWD floats tenders and engages supervision consultants in case a project costs more than Rs 25 crore. But the projects those cost less will be supervised by these "monitors". The officials will be working for the period till the time the project is complete. It may take a project to get completed within a year and they would be given an extension for 3-6 months if need be. The monitors will have to have an experience of at least 20 years and must have worked in the post of at least superintendent engineers for a minimum of three years.