PWD stays fee for ‘expert advice’ given to local bodies

MUMBAI: The state has halted a practice that allowed at least two dozen officials of the state public works department (PWD) to pocket ₹12.51 crore for ‘expert advice’ given to local bodies and government agencies for more than six years. The decision follows strictures passed by the comptroller and auditor general (CAG), which pointed out that the practice bypassed government regulations.

The fee was collected in exchange for expert advice, scrutiny and technical sanctions given to local bodies and government agencies in the awarding of tenders and finalising contractors and projects. PWD minister Shivendra Raje Bhosale has convened a meeting on Tuesday to take a decision on the matter.

Following a government resolution (GR) issued in February 2019, PWD officers – from principal secretary, secretary, deputy secretary to engineers and even clerical staff – kept 50% of the fee, with the rest going to the PWD. The CAG noted that between 2019 and 2022, government officials thus received ₹12.51 crore – which was only 50% of the fee charged. The sum was distributed among the recipients in a proportion fixed by the February GR.

The CAG has raised strong concerns, saying the practice had not been vetted by the state finance department, a mandatory practice in finance-related decisions taken by government departments. Neither had the decision been approved by the cabinet.

The CAG report also pointed out that the PWD manual clearly states that the receipt of commissions or any consideration, directly or indirectly, on account of any business or transaction, was prohibited. “The manual does not provide for distribution of fees so collected in respect of local bodies,” the report stated.

According to PWD officials, the GR was, in fact, amended a few months after it was issued, to enable senior officials from the department to claim a share of the takings.

Taking note of the CAG report, the PWD has stayed the 2019 GR and PWD minister Shivendra Raje Bhosale has convened a meeting on the issue. “The department will take a call on the 2019 GR. The fee cannot be recovered, but a call will be taken at the meeting on whether to amend the GR or altogether scrap it, so that the CAG strictures are addressed,” according to an officer from the office of the PWD minister. The department has also sought the opinion of the state finance department in the matter.