Other Programs taken up by Public Health Engineering Department

1. PHED takes up Deposit Works of other Departments to provide water supply facilities , as & when requests are made & funds provided for the purpose.
2. Construction of departmental buildings both non residential & residential . Non residential buildings include office buildings for various offices, stores. Go downs etc.
3. Matters relating to co-ordination of action by other Departments in execution of water supply schemes & rendering technical advice to the Shillong Municipality in the matter of improvement of existing water supply and Sanitation of Shillong

Construction of School Toilets on behalf of Education Department

1. During the year 2013-14, the PHE Department was entrusted with the task of constructing.

• 5295 Nos. of Toilets for Girls
• 54 Nos. of Toilets for Boys

2. The assignment was on behalf of State Education Mission Authority  of Meghalaya (SEMAM). The estimate was prepared by SEMAM and the details are as follows :

Unit cost of constuction arrived at on the basis of detailed estmate prepared by SEMAM based on PWD Schedule of Rates for Building Works, 2010-11	53,508.62
Less 10% deductions from estimated cost	5,350.86
Net unit cost based on which the work assigned to PHED ( A copy enclosed at Annexure I)	48,000.00

3. The works were assigned to PHE during the year 2013-14 and the estimate was prepared based in SOR for 2010-11. Further, an amount of ₹ 5,350.86 being 10% of the estimated cost was deducted on the ground that Contractor’s profit (10%) is not applicable since the works are to be carried out by Schools Managing Committees, as envisaged in SSA Manual. However, in this instant case works were assigned to PHE Department for execution and the PHE Department normally implements such works through Registered Contractors only.

4. For awarding any contract works, the normal practice is to award the work atleast AT PAR the estimated cost, if not quoted ABOVE, the estimated rate in compliance with Office Memorandum, Dated 27.01.1981 from the Chief Secretary to the Government of Meghalaya, as reproduced below:

“POL.740/80/24-The matter regarding acceptance of tenders below the Schedule of Rates has been receiving the attention of Government for sometime. With a view to discouraging such undesirable practice of offers of reckless and speculative bids and offers etc., below the Schedule of Rates and with a view to improving the quality of work in the Government Departments, it has been decided by the Government that henceforth tenders and other offers which are submitted below the Schedule of Rates should not be accepted.

The above decision of Government should be adhered to by all concerned”.

5. However, keeping in view the orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court and Government instructions, the PHE Department accepted the responsibility assigned to it for constructing 5295 numbers of Girls Toilets and 54 numbers of Boys Toilets.

6. But, soon thereafter the implementing Divisions of PHE Department started expressing their difficulties in executing the works as many contractors are reluctant to do the works based on the offered rates which is liable to be reduced further because of mandatory deductions from the Bill Value viz., Forest Royalty, VAT, Labour Cess etc.,

7. The matter was brought to the notice of SEMAM and Government in PHE Department for redressal. It was also gathered during the Review Meeting on construction of Toilets for Schools taken by Hon’ble Chief Minister on 29.05.2015, that works of similar nature have been entrusted to other Organizations/Departments @ ₹ 1,48,000.00 per Unit, whereas for PHE Department it was only ₹ 48,000.00 per unit.

8. In order to resolve the problem faced by PHE Department, the Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister, Incharge Education, PHE etc., convened a Meeting on 10.07.2015 wherein, it was instructed that PHE Department shall update the unit cost of Toilets on the basis of latest SOR and indicate the amount involved for remaining toilets where payments have not been made.

9. In pursuant to the above Meeting, unit cost for construction of Girls Toilets was updated to ₹ 0.951 Lakhs per unit and in anticipation that the matter will be considered by the Government, the implementing Divisions were directed to expedite completion of the assigned works.

10. Out of 5295 Girls Toilets, only 3119 Girls Toilets were not taken up at the time the unit cost underwent revision and as such revised amount was calculated for 3119 Girls Toilets only. The revised amount is ₹ 3728.41 Lakhs and the same was submitted to the Principal Secretary to the Government of Meghalaya, PHE Department vide Letter No. CE/PHE/TB:145/Pt-I/2014-15/50, Dated 16.07.2015.

11.  The total amount released by SEMAM to PHE Department at different intervals amounts to ₹ 2,289.688 Lakhs. Hence, in order to settle the liabilities for 3119 Girls Toilets taken up post revision of unit cost an amount of ₹ 1,438.722 Lakhs is required to be made available to the Implementing Divisions.