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Raipur, December 29, 2024: Chhattisgarh Public Works Department (PWD) today announced to update the old Schedule of Rate (SOR) which was prevalent since 2015, which will be applicable from the New Year.
New machinery and construction techniques have also been included in the new SOR. These will reduce the financial risk of contractors along with quality work. The new SOR will be implemented in the state from January 1, 2025, Deputy Chief Minister PWD Arun Sao told reporters here.
For effective maintenance of roads, PBMC / OPRMC (Performance Based Maintenance Contract / Output and Performance Based Maintenance Contract) will also be implemented in Chhattisgarh. For this, a pilot project will be started by the PWD department soon, he said.
Addressing a press conference organized on the occasion of the release of the new schedule of rate (SOR) for road and bridge works, Sao said that under the leadership of Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai, special emphasis is being laid on ensuring the quality of construction works in Chhattisgarh and completing them within the time limit. After the implementation of the new SOR, these will become easier, he added.
Sao informed that the currently prevalent SOR is applicable from 1 January 2015. At that time, it included the rate of workers, materials and machinery prevalent in 2014, which has changed a lot after ten years. The new rate schedule has been prepared on the basis of the currently prevalent rate of workers, rate of material and rate of machinery, the PWD Minister said.
The rate schedule released in the year 2015 was prepared by incorporating all the taxes prevalent at that time. The new SOR includes GST applicable in the country from 1 July 2017. Contractors will quote their tender rates inclusive of GST so that they will not have to pay GST separately, but the impact of GST will be included in the cost of the work, he said.
By keeping the rates without the impact of GST, the contractor does not face any risk in carrying out the work due to changes in GST rates from time to time. The prevailing GST rates including the impact of GST will be added to the estimate. By doing so, there will be no financial risk on the contractors, the Minister clarified.
Sao stated that in the last 10 years, many new technologies, materials and changes have been made in the working methods of various works by IRC. Provision for the use of these new technologies and materials has also been made in the new SOR.
These include soil stabilization with cement and chemicals, pavement white topping, use of aluminium composite material sheeting in road signage, precast RCC. These include new things like drain, precast box culvert, use of high grade M-40, M-45, and M-50 of RCC in foundation work, pre-stressing in sub-structure work, bamboo crash barrier and noise barrier.
With the implementation of the new rate schedule, the assessment of work cost in DPR/ estimate of construction works will be realistic and the amount to be approved administratively for the works will require less need for revised approval while working. Meaningful results will be achieved in quality of works and completion within time limit, he said.
Deputy Chief Minister Sao said that in the current system for maintenance of roads, maintenance work is done by inviting tenders and selecting contractors by forecasting the possibility of the road getting damaged in the rainy season. Many times such a situation arises that the road remains in bad condition, but due to non-availability of agency for maintenance, there is delay in filling the potholes and maintenance of roads. Many times, even after the agency is determined, the roads remain potholed and damaged due to the contractor not doing the maintenance work on time, he said.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the Public Works Department of many states are doing the maintenance work of roads through PBMC (Performance Based Maintenance Contract)/OPRMC (Output and Performance Based Maintenance Contract) method. For its maintenance, roads are selected and a single agency is determined for continuous maintenance for 5 to 7 years and in case of road damage or any kind of sudden repair/extreme damage, the repair work of the road is done within the stipulated time limit by the agency determined for the repair work. Regular maintenance of the road is also done by the contractor within the stipulated time limit, Sao said.
If the contractor does not do the road surface improvement work within the stipulated time limit, then there is also a provision of penalty for every day of delay. This process is also monitored online, so that where the road is in good or bad condition, it can be seen by sitting in the control room. The Public Works Department has decided to work with this method in Chhattisgarh too. Soon some districts will be selected on a pilot basis and this will be implemented. If the pilot projects yield positive results, this will be implemented for the maintenance of roads in the entire state, the Deputy Chief Minister-PWD added.
