Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis Curtails Construction Powers Of State Departments, PWD To Take Charge

Mumbai: According to a directive issued at the behest of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the state departments will no longer be able to undertake construction projects.

About The Directive

The directive issued on Friday asks all departments to shut down construction wings under their purview and anoints the Public Works Department (PWD) as the sole department for construction work related to any state department. Hitherto, state departments used their own construction wings for the purpose, despite having no technical expertise or required staff.

When this was brought to the notice of the Chief Minister, he directed all such wings in the state departments be shut down in phases, says the order issued by the PWD. The decision was communicated to the administrative departments. The PWD department has launched a dedicated construction wing to undertake building works needed for all the state departments.

To begin with, construction activities of the Tribal Development Department, Social Justice and Special Assistance Department, Medical Education and Drugs Department and Public Health Department have been brought under the PWD construction umbrella. The practice has been to for all such departments to sanction the building construction works from the design to the contract work on their own. Now they will have to assign the job to the PWD, and in the process make availabe the requisite funds to the PWD.

The PWD will in turn get all the required permissions, complete the project, and hand it over to the concerned department. Interestingly, the departments of Social Justice and Public Health are headed by the Shiv Sena ministers, and the Medical Education Department is headed by the NCP minister. Only the Tribal Development Department is headed by the BJP minister. The PWD, which will be the sole authority for the construction of buildings, is headed by Shivendra Raje Bhosale of the BJP, who is a first-time minister.

The aforementioned departments were known to take up a number of building projects such as new Aashram Schools, hostels, social activity centres, new medical colleges, hospitals, health centres and residential quarters for their staff. Construction work entail huge costs and involve approval by the ministers and selection of the contractors. The CM's decision will automatically control the construction activities and the huge expenditure, enabling the PWD to be the sole controlling authority. Secondly, it will have the effect of applying brakes on the alliance partners' interests in such activities.