Sub. : Salient issues arising out of the review meeting held at Agartala on 10/06/2008.

6 States namely Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim and Tripura participated. Due to some reason there was no participation from Nagaland and Mizoram. Secretary PWD Tripura chaired the review meeting. From NRRDA Director Projects I, II & III participated.

Bharat Nirman:

It was emphasized by NRRDA that achievement under habitation coverage is lagging behind and is only 35% of the targets (2005-09) for all the 8, NE states put together. The shortfall is required to be made up and all efforts made to achieve the habitation targets by the year 2010 which is the revised date for achieving Bharat Nirman. Achievement under upgradation or expenditure would not be treated as performance of the states, only eligible habitations of Bharat Nirman connectivity would be the criteria for assessing the outcome performance of the states during 08-09.

2.All the states were reminded to respond to DO letters no. P-17023/2/2008-P-I dt. 15th April 2008 and letter no. P-17012/5/2006-P-I dt. 16/05/2008 from JS (RC) & DG, NRRDA. These letters stress the need for reconfirming the total target in the state, the number of Bharat Nirman habitation for which DPR have been cleared and the balance DPRs. Plan for submission of balance DPRS by December 2008 is also essential.

For identification of projects leading to Bharat Nirman a facility has now been created in PMGSY website under‘Analysis’ which indicates the name of road works which are leading to Bharat Nirman connectivity.

3.Tasks for 08-09:

Following important issues were highlighted and response of the States was requested:

  • Bring unsatisfactory NQM rating to a single digit.
  • Adopt systematic approach for maintenance
  • Physical & Financial data in OMMAS to be made current & ensure integrity & Accuracy by July 1st.
  • Proceed towards making audited balance sheet available by 30th Sept. & proper UCs for smooth release of funds by the Ministry.
  • Reporting renewal by State Govt. funding.
  • Strengthening of compliant handing mechanism.

4.State wise review:

(i)Arunachal Pradesh:

  • 24% of the habitations under Bharat Nirman have been connected leaving a balance of 69 nos. The balance DPRs are for 44 habitations. It was intimated by the CEO that due to onset of monsoon, it will not be possible to carry out the survey upto October 2008 on many roads and as such by December 2008.It would not be possible to submit all Bharat Nirman DPRs. 1st set would be submitted in Sept. 08.
  • It would be seen that for Ph-IV in 25 months time 65% of the work have been completed. In Ph-V in 20 months time only 7% of the works have been completed. As such, there is a strong need for speeding up of implementation by preparation of works program and monitoring. It is seen that in Ph-IV award of work has taken 10 months time whereas in Ph-V, it has taken 15 months. This is unusually large and for future it has to be attemptedwithin 3 months from the date of clearance.
  • It was intimated thatis Ph-IV, except two roads, all would be completed by September 2008 and Ph-V works completion would be by December 2008 except the bridge portion. The works for 4 bridges are yet to be awarded and completion time is also nearly 2 years in respect of bridges.
  • State has submitted proposal for revision of cost due to higher rate of Bitumen on 4th Feb 2008 costing about Rs 2.78 Crores. Clearance was requested by State.
  • Limited Contracting capacity, Exposure and Training to contractors and poor availability of machines are major constraints. Equipment Banks may be set up in the State with assistance of DONER.
  • Ph-VI works were cleared in February 2007 and tenders could be called only after carrying out revised survey to account for slips and damages to road works and these could be awarded by March 2008 only. These are all stage II works.
  • The progress trend of previous years indicate that the length cover during last two years has been of the order of 270km whereas expenditure during the respective years has been Rs. 64 Cr and Rs. 130Cr. The coverage of habitations under Bharat Nirman and length completion requires to be speeded up.
  • An analysis of balance works of Ph-IV, Ph-V and Ph-VIas reported in format II-B indicates that 11 works of 1000+ & 33 works of 500+ are in progress totaling to 44. Whereas the Bharat Nirman data furnish earlier by the state indicates that 27 works are in progress. This needs to be reconciled on priority basis.

Quality:

Field labs have not been established in all the packages and number of inspections by the second tier also is on lower side. Submission of ATRs from 3rd quarter of 2007 onwards is low and needs to be expedited. The number of unsatisfactory works in progress as well as ongoing is also substantially high.

(ii)Assam:

  • 41% Bharat Nirman habitations have been connected upto March 2008. The balance DPR required are 1139 (to be confirmed). It was also seen that as per Bharat Nirman proforma 1500, 1000+ habitations are in progress whereas proforma II-B of progress report, 2868 works are in progress (or under tendering and award). This also needs to be reconciled, so that a clear picture of habitation connected under Bharat Nirman and PMGSY are available.
  • For Ph-IV, 88% woks are completed in 26 months and for Ph-V, 43% of works are completed in 20 months time. ADB batch-1, 39% of the works completed in 22 months. As such, the time of completion needs to be drastically reduced using work plan as a tool of management.
  • The time of award of contract is varying from 6 to 9 months. Provision in the SBD on qualification criteria and package size etc needs to be looked into so that repeated call of tenders is not necessary.
  • State has proposed to prepare separate DPR for road and bridges having more than 25 meter length.
  • State may consider clubbing of big size bridges for package size of Rs 100 Crore or more for the purpose of tendering.
  • The length coverage has dropped to 1141 km in 2007-08 from 1547 Km completed in 2006-07.
  • The habitation coverage is 843 only in 2007-08. The current year habitation target is 1860.
  • It was intimated that in Ph-V, there are number of large span bridges which is delaying the completion of roads.For ADB batch – 1, road part would be completed by December 2008.
  • The state was requested to examine and intimate NRRDA the reasons for slow progress of work leading to lower physical achievements in 2007-08 and steps taken to improve the same within two months time.
  • State was requested to make use of the contract provision in completing works which are held up at WBM layer for some time.
  • For ADB batch -1, target for submission of reimbursement claim during 2008 calendar year is USD 25 million, out of which only the USD 10 million claims have been received so far. State is requested to indicate the month wise target and also speed up physical progress.

Quality:

  • Data in respect of establishment of field labs not fully available. NQMs reports indicate field labs not established in a few districts like Shibsagar and Jorhat.
  • The number of inspections at second tier is very low and needs to be scaled up so as to provide atleast three inspections for each work.
  • Submission of ATRs is unsatisfactory and needs to be expedited.
  • The review of management process at the state level requires strengthening so that works are completed in time with quality.
  • Financial management needs improvement.

(iii)Manipur:

  • No work is reported completed in last 24 months. The reason mentioned was since the works are in requiring improvement category by NQMs they have not shown as complete – though it is not a correct practice.
  • Balance DPRs for Bharat Nirman is 97. By December 2008, 70% of the DPRs would be submitted and 30% later. This is required as work in all districts is to be carried out irrespective of the Bharat Nirman habitation in these districts.
  • Time of award for Ph-V was 15 months. This needs to be reduced. The call of restricted tenders was not agreed to. Works are to be tendered following PMGSY guidelines in a transparent manner.
  • List of works proposed to be tendered in first lot in Ph-VI has been sent to the Ministry and approval may be expedited.
  • First and second tier quality monitoring needs to be strengthened.
  • Financial management needs to be strengthened.
  • As per the Bharat Nirman proforma, 112 habitation works are in progress whereas, II B format indicates work for 157 habitations ( 1000+ 500+) are in progress. This requires reconciliation.

Quality:

  • NQM observations indicates that field labs have not been established for first tier testing particularly in Tamenglong, Lower Suansiri, Senapati.
  • No information regarding second tier inspections after June 2006 has been submitted.
  • The state has intimated that 11 SQM have been appointed but reports are not being sent regularly.
  • The works inspected three tier inspection for 2007 and first quarter of 2008 indicate that 13% on ongoing works are unsatisfactory and 40% under require improvement category.

(iv)Meghalaya:

  • Only 18% of the Bharat Nirman habitation connected till March 2008.
  • 31 works (57%) completed in Ph-III in average time of 31 months. In Ph-IV, no works is completed during last 18 months.
  • Time of award of Ph-IVis nearly 17 months which is very large.
  • Only 9 habitations connected during 2007-08 and 13 during 2006-07.
  • The length completed during 2007-08 is only 52km. The expenditure has also dropped downfrom Rs. 17 Cr in 2006-07 to Rs. 16 Cr in 2007-08.
  • Keeping above indicators in view, there is a need for drastic reorientation of the Institutional structure handling PMGSY in Meghalaya.
  • Audited balance sheets of Administrative funds not received since inception which is holding up release of further Administrative funds to the state. This needs to be looked into and needful action taken on priority basis.
  • SRRDA should have dedicated personal for implementation of PMGSY.
  • State has intimated that SORhas been revised and will be submitted in to NRRDA in a fortnight.
  • State should take necessary steps for improving the Quality of DPR for next batch. The State can consider engagement of DPR consultant.
  • It was intimated that all the Nodal functionaries in SRRDA are in place and one Additional Chief Engineer has also been inducted in SRRDA.
  • It was also indicated that State Government has placed high importance to this program and efforts are being made to expedited progress of the works as well as preparation of DPRs.
  • As per the Bharat Nirman proforma works in respect of 66 habitations is in progress whereas proforma II –B indicates 35 works eligible under Bharat Nirman are in progress. This needs to be reconciled.

Quality:

  • No information in QM 1 has been submitted. As per NQM reports, first tier is not operational.
  • Second tier is not operational in the state.
  • NQM inspections during first quarter of 2008 have brought outthat all the inspected works under unsatisfactory category in completed works and 27% in ongoing works. This needs to be looked into by the SQC.

(v)Sikkim:

  • 39% of Bharat Nirmanhabitations have been connected upto March 2008.
  • Only 3% of Ph-V works are completed in 20 months and 44% of Ph-IV in 24 months. Only 19% works in Ph-III are completed even after three years of its clearance.
  • Time of award for Ph-V is 15 months which is unusually long.
  • All the DPRs of Bharat Nirman have bee submitted.
  • Habitations connected during 2007-08 is only 10.Current year target is 80.
  • There has been a drop in length completion (142 km during 2007-08 from 204km during 2006-07). Current year target is 280Km.
  • Bharat Nirman proforma indicates that 94 habitations works is in progress whereas format II-B indicates 104 works eligible under Bharat Nirman are in progress. This needs to be reconciled.
  • It was intimated that five cases of Ph-V and six cases of Ph-VI are still pending for forest clearance. Use of explosive is banned during rainy season resulting into delay. The PWD has now taken explosive license.
  • Out of 62 completed works, final payment has been released only in 32 cases. It was intimated, it is due to non receipt of Labour Clearance Certificate. This needs to be expedited.
  • For maintenance, Rs. 2 Cr has been received from the state budget.
  • Though 87% of the road works have been reported, as complete expenditure is only 58% of the total sanctions. It was intimated that contractors ask for payment only a few time a year nearing festive time. The state was advised to make monthly payment so that progress works can improve.
  • It was made clear that no restriction of making final payment after inspection of NQM and SQM imposed by NRRDA. State should monitor that the final payment are made with in 3 months of completion of work.
  • State may send audited balance sheet for 2007.

Quality:

  • Full information on first tier labs not made available. SQC to monitor.
  • NQM observation also indicates field lab not established in South Sikkim.
  • Only 4 second tier inspectionshave been carried out during last quarter which is very low.State to ensure three inspections in each work.
  • 62% of ongoing works inspected during first quarter of 2008 are in requires improvement category and as such ATR after completing the required actions needs to be submitted in time bound manner.

vi)Tripura:

  • A detailed review of HSCL, NBCC and the State was carried out on 9thJune 2008. Salient points are as in Annexure –A.
  • 14% of Bharat Nirman habitations have been provided connectivity. No renewal is reported from the State government funding. In 18 months, only 2% of Ph-V works have been completed and 29% of Ph-IV works have been completed in 22 months. Time of completion needs to be reduced.
  • The length completion and habitation coverage during 2007-08 has dropped compared to the achievement during 2006-07. The short fall is required to be made up during the current financial year.
  • HSCL & NBCC to have independent second tier monitors. Required number of inspection at second tier level needs to be ensured.
  • It was intimated that the works during previous year has slowed down due to frequent rains, shortage of bricks, carriage of material from Assam due to disruption of rail and road traffic.
  • Now the two Central Agencies are fully geared up and performance is expected to improve during the current year.

Salient issues pertaining to Mizoram and Tripura, who could not participate in the review meeting are (extract sent separately):

i)Mizoram:

  • Only 14% of Bharat Nirman habitations have been connected upto March 2008. Time of award of contract for Ph-III and IV has been 7 months and 13 months for Ph-V. This needs to be reduced substantially for future works.
  • Ph-III works have been completed in 28 months time whereas, Ph-IV works completion has taken 44 months.
  • In 18 months only 15% of works have been completed in Ph-V.
  • The progress of works needs to be speeded up using works plan as a tool of management.
  • DPR for 45 habitations for Bharat Nirman are yet to be submitted. The schedule of submission is to be intimated as requested in letter of 16th May 2008.
  • Only 14 habitations have been connected during 2007-08. Target for current year is 40 with 280km of target length.
  • Bharat Nirman proforma indicates that work in respect of 72 Bharat Nirman habitations is in progress whereas, the format II B indicates that work in respect of only 38 Bharat Nirman habitations is in progress. This needs to be reconciled on a priority basis.
  • The financial management needs improvement.
  • The maintenance of Rural Road Core Network is to be undertaken as in accordance with PMGSY guidelines.

Quality:

  • Full information on establishment of first year labs is not available.
  • The number of inspection at second tier needs to be scaled up so that each work gets inspected three times during its execution.
  • As per three tier inspection of works from January 2008 onwards, all the 100% require improvement under completed category and in ongoing work, the %age of unsatisfactory works is ranging from 22 to 26%. The ATRs in respect of works inspected from January 2007 has not been submitted at all. This needs looking into and corrective action taken immediately.

ii)Nagaland:

  • Only 12% of Bharat Nirman habitations have been connected upto March 2008
  • Ph-III works have been completed in 28 months time whereas, in Ph-IV in 35 months, only 67% of works have been completed and in Ph-VII in 21 months, only 17% of works have been completed. Reason for this delay needs to be looked into and remedial measures taken so that work gets completed in time. Progress of works needs to be speeded up using works plan as a tool of management.
  • While Ph-III and Ph-IV works could be awarded in 4 months time, it has taken 15 months in awarding Ph-V works. The reason for delay in award of Ph-V works needs to be looked into, so that corrective measures have taken while tendering and award of future bids.
  • The annual expenditure during 2006-07 was Rs. 33 cr, whereas for 2007-08, it has been Rs. 20 Cr only, though, length completed is 398 km. Targets for current year is completing 430km of road length, connectivity to 8 Bharat Nirman habitations and expenditure of Rs. 80 Cr.
  • The Bharat Nirman project approval and completion proforma indicate that work in respect of 31 habitations is in progress whereas, the proforma II B indicate that 19 Bharat Nirman habitations are in progress. This needs to be reconciled.
  • Renewal from state resources needs to be reported alongwith Bharat Nirman progress.
  • Audited balance sheet for 2006-07 is awaited.

Quality:

  • NQM inspection report indicates that field lab for first tier has not been established in all the packages particularly in Kohima, Dimapur, Peren districts.
  • Though works in nearly 51 packages is in progress, only 15 second tier inspection have been carried out in the last quarter. This needs to be scaled up so that each work gets inspected three times during its execution.
  • During third and fourth quarter of 2006, all the 4 completed works inspected have been found to be unsatisfactory.
  • 18 ongoing works inspected during first quarter of 2008 indicate that 16 require improvement and two are unsatisfactory
  • ATRs in respect of these works has not been submitted.

Annexure - A

Tripura

Phase wise review of PMGSY works(June 9th 2008):

Expected completion dates and the review of PIUs, central PSUs (NBCC and HSCL) was carried out. Secretary PWD, Tripura alongwith Chief Engineer and his team participated in the meeting. The salient points of discussions are:

General Issues:

  • All efforts to be made to complete the works which are in advance stage of progress.Where bituminous surface still remain same should be targeted to be completed latest by December 2008.
  • Some projects are held up due to land issues. The people’s participation in transact walk for new project and consult with them where work are held up due to land problem would reduce the land related problems.
  • A separate list of such roads should be prepared district wise, phase wise and if necessary, considered at government level also for resolving such issues.
  • State PWD should exercise random minimum checks of measurement and quality of materials and workmanship.