Government contractors have demanded a district-level mechanism to revise the prices of raw materials needed for road and other construction works.
Citing how the prevailing rates in Kerala are below those fixed by the Central PWD in 2018, the Kerala Government Contractors’ Association demanded that contractors be given market rates for sourcing raw materials. A committee headed by the District Collector concerned and having heads of various departments, representatives of contractors, and raw-material suppliers as members must be constituted to ensure it, the association said.
Quarry and crusher products must be made available at reasonable rates and as per quality norms. This is because executive engineers of the PWD (Buildings wing) are often unable to arrive at reasonable prices for such items. The rates must be published every month for each district after taking into account the manufacturing cost of raw materials and a reasonable profit, said Varghese Kannampilly, president of the association.
Subsequently, contracts must be awarded in accordance with the rates approved by the district-level committee. In addition, tests must be done at the source of procuring raw materials and at retail yards. Above all, the 2022 rates that the Central PWD had published must be implemented in Kerala too. On their part, suppliers of quarry-crusher produce must revise their rates and stop charging ‘exorbitant’ rates, he said.
Meanwhile, P.A. Shanavas, former chief engineer at the Kerala Water Authority (KWA), said the cost of raw materials and labour was higher in Kerala than in the rest of the country. Over time, the quality of road and other construction works has improved thanks to stepped up quality assurance mechanisms. Vetting is also done at the level of technical consultants, chief technical examiner (CTE), and the vigilance wing. However, local bodies are found to be in want of supervisory staff.
Stray incidents of inferior quality work are mostly attributed to hectic and continuous work done during day and night to adhere to deadlines, he added.
