BRO gets powers to speed up works on border roads

Slow road construction along the India-China border has prompted the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to give more financial and administrative powers to the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), allowing the Director General to make procurements up to Rs 100 crore and also draw up a mechanism for fixing accountability.

Power has also been given to the Additional DG to give approval for purchases up to Rs 75 crore and chief engineer up to Rs 50 crore to expedite the construction of strategic roads. “With the intent to speed up the tendering  process, the  Ministry of Defence has now enhanced the powers of the Chief Engineer for acceptance of bids with cost of contract upto Rs 100 crore and that of ADGBR for cost of contract upto Rs 300 crore,” the MoD said in a statement.

According to the earlier delegation of powers, a Chief Engineer in the BRO had the power to accept execution of contracts only upto Rs 10 crore, ADGBR had powers upto Rs 20 crore, beyond which all tenders had to be sent to DGBR.

“It is expected that with the delegation of powers by the Ministry of Defence to the BRO, the pace of road construction in border areas would improve, the ministry said.

ACT EAST

• The 61 India-China border roads, covering 3,417 km, to be constructed between 2015 and 2020 have not kept pace with the target.
   
• In the last two years 654 km of roads were constructed in states sharing a border with China.