To ensure qualitative monitoring of highway projects, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has put a limit on the maximum number of the projects that can be assigned to an engineer of consultancy firms. A maximum of 10 projects per engineer of the consultancy firms can be assigned for the supervision of construction or maintenance of national highway projects NHAI said on Thursday.
The decision will come into effect after 60 days, providing consultancy firms time to make appropriate adjustments. Consultancy firms working as independent engineer, authority engineer or supervision consultant were assigning too many projects to a designated ‘engineer’, due, compromising the quality of monitoring, officials said.
The decision was taken three weeks after an incident in Kerala on May 19, wherin a stretch of National Highway-66 at Kooriyad in Malappuram district collapsed, sparking a debate over the quality of construction of national highways. NHAI suspended its project director and terminated the service of a site engineer in the case. The concessionaire and independent engineer were also suspended from participating in future bids and a show cause notice was issued in the matter.
The engineer’s role is important in the construction of national highways. The compliance of specifications and contract provisions is primarily controlled and supervised by the consultant’s team through the designated engineer assigned to a particular project.
“Due to more number of projects in hand, the designated ‘engineer’ may not be able to fulfil contractual obligations, defeating the purpose of qualitative and quantitative monitoring of the projects,” said the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) in a statement.
The Highways Ministry added capping the projects per ‘engineer’ will enhance operational efficiency and ensure high quality implementation as well as maintenance of highways. The move will also go a long way to ensure safe, smooth, and seamless travel experience on national highways across the country.
“The designated ‘engineer’ from the consulting firm is required to visit the assigned project site every month and provide inputs in the monthly progress report as per consultancy and civil contract provisions. The restriction of a maximum of 10 projects per ‘engineer’ shall come into effect after 60 days, providing time to the consultancy firms to make appropriate adjustments in this period,” the Ministry said.
Detailed clauses have also been included in the guidelines for consultancy firms implementing and maintaining national highway projects in hybrid annuity mode (HAM) and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) mode, the Ministry added. The clauses include provisions for the appointment of independent engineers/authority engineers and the delegation of responsibilities.
