Engineering Wings of Deptts reorganized to bring speed, quality and cost control in projects

Srinagar: In a decision with significant structural change in Engineering Wings of various departments and their working, the Administrative Council which met here Wednesday under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor, G C Murmu, sanctioned the merger/subsuming of in-house engineering wings in various departments/organizations like Tourism, School, Higher and Technical Education, Agriculture Production, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry & Fisheries, Floriculture, Hospitality & Protocol, Estates, DMRRR, Forest, Transport and SKIMS in PW(R&B) Department with effect from 1.12.2020.
The Administrative Council in its decision directed that the user departments whose engineering wings are being subsumed shall, however, retain the power of prioritization and identification of works and their administrative approvals.
Primarily, this decision will bring better quality, faster execution and lower costs in construction projects. The decision is aimed at addressing issues being faced by various existing in-house engineering wings which broadly include shifting of focus of departments from their core objective to construction activities, mushrooming of engineering wings, inconsistency in the estimation processes due to unrevised SoPs, absence of uniform standards & procedures and poor implementation.
The Administrative Council further directed constitution of a Committee of concerned Administrative Secretaries along with domain experts to work out modalities for merger/ repatriation/deputation of staff from the subsumed wings to PWD, Jal Shakti or PDD as the case may be. The Committee is required to submit its recommendation by 15.09.2020.
The Administrative Council also decided to constitute a Committee under the chairmanship of Administrative Secretary, Public Works to suggest restructuring of PWD (R&B) with additional units/wings/ verticals to cater to the needs of regional units and specialized wings. The Committee shall also examine the possibility of delineating the boundaries of the engineering divisions which will be co-terminus with the boundaries of districts.
Taking note of inconsistency in the existing norms/procedures/SOPs governing the aspect of accord of administrative approvals, estimation, tendering, work allotment and procurement of material, the Administrative Council has asked for constitution of a Committee under the chairmanship of Administrative Secretary, Planning, to suggest reforms in the existing norms/procedures/SOPs and submit a draft SOP by 30.09.2020.
Further, the Administrative Council also decided that the mandate of specialized wings of SIDCO and SICOP shall be clearly delineated and these wings shall restrict their activities to their mandate.
Taking cognizance of HRM issues of engineering wings having been adversely impacted by issues of ad-hoc promotions, non-finalization of seniorities and outdated recruitment rules affecting career progression, the Administrative Council decided to constitute a Committee to revisit all HRM related issues concerning engineering departments. The Committee shall submit its report along with its recommendations by 15.10.2020.