PORVORIM: CM Pramod Sawant took a potshot at former PWD Minister Sudin Dhavalikar over penalization of contractors for incomplete or poor quality of works in the State.
“How many agencies have you sent back home,” Sawant questioned Sudin on the latter’s demand on the floor of the House to penalise like suspend the license of agencies/contractors for not giving quality work. Sudin said the contractor is responsible for completing the work under various guidelines and demanded that action be initiated if there was any non-compliance.
Dabolim MLA Mauvin Godinho asked Sudin on the action taken against the errant agencies/contractors during his tenure as the then PWD Minister. “We are pointing at your faults. Have you taken any action against them,” he sought to know as Sudin was cornered during a discussion on the sub-standard quality of PWD works. Some of the legislators alleged that contractors quote 20 percent low rate to obtain the contract but later abandon it mid-way claiming losses.
Sawant assured the govt will form a policy in a month’s time to solve these type of issues. “We have to ensure proper work quality for which the system needs to be upgraded. We will take the Finance Department on board for preparing the policy,” he said.
The discussion came up during a question tabled by Benaulim MLA Churchill Alemao who sought to know the number of water resources works/projects tendered and re-tendered from the year 2017-2019 in his constituency. In a written reply , WRD Minister Felipe Neri Rodrigues stated that 17 works/projects were tendered and six re-tendered during this period. The re-tendering was done since the lowest tender was more than 20 percent below, the tenders were rejected.
To a question on stopping retendering of works, the minister said that the tendering system is to be re-evaluated.
