Delhi government to impose penalty on defaulting contractors

The Delhi government will impose a fine on defaulting contractors for delaying completion of developmental work in all unauthorised colonies. Minister of Irrigation and Flood Control Gopal Rai has asked officials to take measures ensuring all the projects underway are completed well within the deadline.

The move came a day after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia directed officials concerned to speed up the pace of development works in all the unauthorised colonies in the national Capital."The department will take appropriate action against the contractors including a penalty for failing to complete the work as per deadline," an official said.

Residents of the 1,600 unauthorised colonies play a pivotal role in deciding the political fate of any party in the elections. The government directive also comes at a time when the city is likely to go to by-polls following the disqualification of 20 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs by the Election Commission (EC) for allegedly holding an office of profit. The matter, however, is sub-judice with the AAP having challenged the EC's order in the Delhi High court.

The official said that a fortnightly review meeting will be held with the chief and the superintending engineers of the concerned circle to assess the progress of projects."On similar lines, a protocol of review of all the cases on a weekly basis will be followed up by the superintending engineer with the executive engineer," he further said. 

Any laxity in compliance with the order will be viewed seriously and action will be taken against the erring officer, according to the official.

"In cases, where the circumstances of delay are beyond the control of the department, a fresh timeline will be prescribed after taking into consideration all the constraints in the process of execution of the project."It will be the responsibility of the superintending and executive engineers to ensure the project is completed within the revised timeline," the official said.