Centre appoints UK agency to monitor rural road projects

The Union Rural Development Ministry has appointed a UK-based company to monitor construction of roads under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana in Jharkhand - the first state in India that will have this third party quality supervising agency.

The move comes after the Union Rural Development Minister, Jairam Ramesh, received several complaints of poor quality of construction work during his two-day visit to the remote areas. Ramesh said Jharkhand was the first state where his Ministry appointed a third party monitoring agency. URS Scott Wilson India, which is subsidiary of URS Infrastructure and Environment was selected through international competitive bidding.

A memorandum of understanding was signed in Ranchi recently between the Ministry and the company in the presence of Ramesh. Other states where the Ministry will appoint such consultants are Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Meghalaya.

Ramesh said that the Ministry will pay around Rs 13.50 crore to the company that will work over a period of three-four years and act like an extended arm of Jharkhand State Rural Road Development Authority.

Sources in the company said their experts would assist the state in planning, project preparation, procurement of works, contract management, execution, improving social management framework and sustainable maintenance of rural roads. To ensure effective monitoring of projects, the company will have three offices in Ranchi, Dumka and Daltonganj. "Our experts will also provide on-the-job training to employees of the state authority and contactors, including their staff associated with the projects on modern constriction techniques, quarry, material selection, quality control and quality assurance during execution," said an official of the company, adding that the experts would also inform people associated with the projects on contract administration and environment management.