DMRC’s problem: Too much work,too few contractors

Gammon India Ltd was “persuaded”,DMRC Managing Director E Sreedharan told Newsline,to take up a stretch of the Central Secretariat-Badarpur corridor. Sunday’s Metro accident that took six lives was on this particular stretch.

Sreedharan also said the first tender process for this stretch “had no good options” to choose from. A fresh tendering was ordered,which did not see too many enthusiasts either. Sreedharan said: “We had to persuade Gammon India to take up the work on this stretch.”

DMRC sources said the agency has also been unable to replace contractors even if they have not been up to the mark. The shortage,however,is felt more acutely for major projects — flyovers,bridges or the Metro rail that require high technical proficiency.

DMRC has a list of contractors on pre-qualified terms,who bid for global tenders and are selected not only on the basis of the lowest bid but also for their technical pre-qualifications. “But most contractors have their hands full and do not want to take up more projects. There is a lot more development work that is being carried out for which there aren’t adequate number of contractors who can do the job,” Sreedharan said.

Several contractors registered with government bodies like the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) can only bid for projects that are less than Rs 15 crore. Director General,Works,CPWD,D S Sachdev said: “Projects above Rs 15 crore are open for global tenders. We do not,however,face a shortage of contractors since our projects are smaller as compared to those of the Delhi Metro.”

Delhi Metro,in comparison,tenders out projects that are around Rs 100 to Rs 200 crore. “To attract contractors,we could give them larger stretches of work but that will increase costs for the DMRC. This is not a feasible option,” Sreedharan told Newsline. The shortage of contractors will stay in a developing country,civil engineering experts have said. The magnitude of development work being undertaken is way higher than the available resources of contractors.

Senior CPWD officials said they might come up against this shortage in future once they take up bigger projects.

Sachdev told Newsline: “There were a few projects for the Commonwealth Games that required global tendering. We managed to get competitive bidders. But the problem may arise when we take up bigger projects a few years from now.” He added the CPWD upgrades its contractors on a regular basis,and that smaller contractors are also expanding capacity to take on bigger projects.