If the Chief Minister does not know, we wish to inform him that the contractor has to mandatorily pay a 10 p.c cut to the PWD Minister to get the work order. Suppose the road is of one crore rupees he has to pay Rs 10 lakh in advance and Rs 5 lakh in security deposit.
Then comes the local MLA in whose constituency the work is being carried out; he has to be paid a mandatory 5 p.c or brings hurdles while implementing the project.
Finally, after the work is complete, he must pay the officer who inspects the road and gives the completion certificate. Wait, all this isn’t done to get the final bills; they have to pay the Executive Engineer a commission of 2 p.c. What is left with him is almost 50 p.c to complete the work.
SURAJ NANDREKAR
Editor, Goemkarponn
The Chief Minister of Goa, Dr Pramod Sawant, has somehow got the knack of blaming others for the mistakes of his government. Every time his government is accused of failure, he quickly blames the third person – x, y or z.
In this case of bad road, which has been a talking point as many innocent lives have been lost due to accidents, the Chief Minister blamed the PWD engineers. He did not stop at that but said that strict action would be taken if the roads were not repaired by November 1.
CMs statement came after his government got severe bashing on social media and Congress’s “Spot the Pothole” contest.
Well, Mr Chief Minister, we all know why the roads are bad in Goa. However, we understand, with the high commissions paid to the Minister, MLA and the officers, the contractor has very little left from the actual tendered amount to carry on the works. What do you expect from the contractors after paying commissions? Expressway?
If the Chief Minister does not know, we wish to inform him that the contractor has to mandatorily pay a 10 p.c cut to the PWD Minister to get the work order. Suppose the road is of one crore rupees he has to pay Rs 10 lakh in advance and Rs 5 lakh in security deposit.
Then comes the local MLA in whose constituency the work is being carried out; he has to be paid a mandatory 5 p.c or brings hurdles while implementing the project.
Finally, after the work is complete, he must pay the officer who inspects the road and gives the completion certificate. Wait, all this isn’t done to get the final bills; they have to pay the Executive Engineer a commission of 2 p.c. What is left with him is almost 50 p.c to complete the work.
Even after paying all the above commissions, there is no guarantee that the contractor will get the payment anytime soon. He will have to wait for at least one year for full settlement. As we talk, crores of rupees of contractors’ rupees bills are pending as the PWD or the government does not have funds.
So how does the CM expect the contractor to give high-quality work when his payments are not on time and the high commission paid?
Instead, the Chief Minister should sack the PWD Minister like Deepak Pauskar, who feels that the people are unnecessarily criticising the government over road conditions. He feels the bad roads are the imagination of social media, and in reality, there was nothing as such.
One wonders, which world does Mr Pauskar live in? If he stays in Goa, he would be surely travelling on the same roads as people do. Else, he must be travelling to Porvorim every day in a helicopter from Sanvordem?
Soon after the Minister’s statement, the Chief Minister should have sacked him and not warn the officers/ engineers. But the less spoken about Sawant, the better.
Needless to say, Pauskar has been one of the worst-performing ministers in the Sawant cabinet, who has no knowledge of his subject.
But then, the same is the story of many of Sawant’s cabinet ministers, who talk more and work less.
