Bhopal: Post That Checks Construction Quality Lying Vacant For One-And-A-Half Year

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The post of director general of the MP Works Quality Council that tightens the noose around the departments dealing with construction work has been lying vacant for one and a half years. A retired IAS officer Ashok Shah was the last person to have worked on this post.

The post has been lying vacant since the appointment of Shah as chairman of the Commercial Tax Appellate Board. To check the quality of construction, there was also a post of technical examiner (CTE). During the tenure of Shivraj Singh Chouhan as chief minister of the state, the post of CTE was scrapped and Works Quality Council formed.

The Chief Minister was the chairman of the Council, and the Chief Secretary was the head of the executive body. Shah, the first Director General of the Council, was appointed chairman of the Commercial Tax Appellate Board in October, 2023.

Afterwards, nobody has been appointed to the post. The job of the DG is to check the quality of construction work done by the government, semi-government and local bodies, through the Council. The works content and management system software are used to check the progress and quality of the constructions.

Checking the quality of work through a third party is also part of the Council’s job. Because the Council is in a dormant state, the quality of construction works of various departments remains unchecked. (box) Post of departmental inquiry commissioner also vacant The post of departmental inquiry commissioner to probe the cases related to the first grade and the second grade officers is also lying vacant.

The officers of the Indian Judicial Services and of the Indian Administrative Services are appointed to this post on deputation. As the post of inquiry commissioner is lying vacant, the departmental officers are probing the cases. The system of holding independent inquiry has come to an end, because the post is lying vacant.