ITBP expresses displeasure over delay in construction of residential quarters

NEW DELHI: Indo-tibetan Border Police Inspector General Vijay Kumar Singh has expressed displeasure over the slow pace of construction of residential quarters and barracks by the CPWD.

In a letter to the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) Director General, Prabhakar Singh, last week, Singh said out of the 1,970 residential quarters sanctioned in 2016-17, only 753 have been constructed, while 1,217 are still under construction.

The quarters were sanctioned under the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) mode.

The IG said as per the Ministry of Home Affairs' direction, these residential quarters were to be constructed before January 2018.

Similarly, 48 barracks, each with a capacity to accommodate 120 personnel, were sanctioned in 2016-17, but out of these, construction of only 16 have been completed, according to the letter. CPWD officers concerned were requested several times to complete construction of these projects, which are being executed under the EPC mode, but the priority, which was supposed to be given, is not being given by the CPWD, Singh said.

He said at present, the pace of work on these projects is very slow and added that the fixed deadline for completion of construction works has also passed. "Most of the works have been delayed for either one year or more...i request you (CPWD DG) to take cognisance of this and apprise the ITBP of a fixed date for completion of these projects being executed under EPC mode," he said.

The CPWD, which comes under the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry, is the largest construction agency of the central government.

It looks after maintenance of central government buildings and erecting of fences on the country's international borders, among others.

The agency also carries out projects in foreign countries under friendship programmes with India.