TEAM HERALD

teamherald@herald-goa.com

PANJIM: The Public Works Department (PWD) has introduced Electronic Clearing System to simplify and expedite payment of bills submitted for works executed by private contractors.

The system has come into effect earlier this month, according to Principal Chief Engineer  J J S Rego. 

Rego said that once the bills are submitted by the contractors, they are verified by  executive engineers and the PCE.  “The bills are then forwarded to Finance and Accounts Depts,” he informed.

After completing the requisite procedures, the PWD has a tie up with the State Bank of India which then electronically credits the amounts to the accounts of the contractors.

“Within this month itself around 200 bills have been cleared through this system,” Rego disclosed.

It appears that this system has come into place after a hue and cry from contractors regarding delay in payment of their pending bills.

It may be recalled that the PWD was lambasted for delaying in clearing of bills which allegedly led to the death of contractor Halmarkar last month.

This new system has been devised to curb allegations of graft and corruption in the PWD ministry, sources said.