Construction of administrative complex on Labour Colony delays

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

The construction of the Administrative Complex and the new District Collectorate building in the 17.5-acre area of Vishwasnagar-Labour Colony has once again moved to court. The tender process was concluded in December 2024, with the selected bidder being decided. After the Work Order (WO) was issued, the construction work was initiated. However, due to the lack of work distribution, one of the three contractor partners has now approached the court. In the meantime, the construction work for the complex is progressing at a slow pace. To add to the delay, the grant allocated by the government for this project in the budget has not yet been received.

The work of the construction of the administrative complex has been assigned to the World Bank Projects Division of the Public Works Department (PWD), with Shubham EPC Pvt. Ltd. being awarded the contract. However, before the construction work began, there was confusion and suspicion within the tendering process itself. The orders of the Mantralaya were violated. This issue came to light after the newspaper exposed the matter, leading the Secretary of the PWD to issue orders for action in this case.

The government had finalised the tender for the project with a contractor selected as L-1, but instead of awarding the work to the L-1 contractor, Executive Engineer Ashok Yerekar issued the work order to a different contractor. The MLA Prashant Bamb raised concerns about the matter and demanded that the government take action in this regard.

After action was proposed against Yerekar, Accounts Officer Pintu Kumar, and Tender Clerk Jagdale, including a charge sheet, the work order issued by them was cancelled by Superintending Engineer Sunderdas Bhagat under the orders of Chief Engineer Srinivas Katkade. As a result, the project was handed over to the World Bank Project Division.

The three contractors who were initially awarded the work did not proceed with the project; one approached the court, while the other two withdrew their bids in writing to the PWD, clearing the way for the building’s construction to move forward. However, the construction work is still progressing at a slow pace. Sources indicate that there are ongoing delays, including issues with the release of funds and the acquisition of other necessary No Objection Certificates (NoCs).

Myriad reasons for slow progress

Earlier, the occupants of the quarters on the 17.5-acre land in Labour Colony had accumulated an electricity bill of approximately Rs 85 lakh. Under the amnesty scheme, the PWD has cleared a bill of Rs 60 lakh. Meanwhile, permission has been sought from the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC) to cut down trees in the area, but no decision has been made on this request yet. Besides, the tender process has been challenged in the court and delays in the disbursement of government grants are some of the key reasons for the sluggish pace of construction, said the sources in the World Bank Project Division.