Former Roads & Bridges CE convicted in Vigilance case

GANGTOK, 02 Jan: The District and Sessions Judge convicted one more former technocrat, a former Chief Engineer of Roads and Bridges Department, in a disproportionate assets case on the last day of 2012 here in Gangtok.
Dhan Subba, a former technocrat of the Sikkim government, was found guilty of misusing his official position and amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income and sentenced to serve a sentence of two years imprisonment with a fine of Rs. 10,000, on the default of which he could undergo six further months of simple imprisonment.
The former CE has been accused of amassing wealth beyond his known sources of income through misuse of his official position. He was accused of acquiring assets to the tune of Rs. 20 lakh during his service beginning as Assistant Engineer to Chief Engineer in the Road & Bridges Department.
The Designated Special Judge [East and North], under Prevention of Corruption Act 1988, Meenakshi Madan Rai pronounced the judgment in an open court convicting Mr. Subba in the case made out under Section 13(1)(e) of Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 corresponding to the section 5(1)(e) of P C Act 1947.
The investigating agency, Sikkim Vigilance Police, in its charge-sheets had accused Mr. Subba of amassing wealth of Rs 28 lakh beyond his known sources of income but could only prove him to be guilty of acquiring Rs. 20 lakh worth of disproportionate assets in court.
While reading the operative part of the judgment, the Special Judge said that “…in consideration of the entire evidence and documents on record, the court has found that the prosecution has proved their case beyond the reasonable doubt against the accused person under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988”.

Roads & Bridges Deptt launches e-procurement service

ANUSHA GURUNG
GANGTOK, 10 Sept: The Roads and Bridges Department launched an e-procurement service on the Sikkim Government web portal today.
Roads & Bridges Secretary GS Sharma launched the service at the premises of Roads and Bridges Department. E-Submission Tender system of Sikkim enables people to download the tender schedule free of cost and submit the bids online through this portal.
This system will be implemented in all other departments gradually, said the Secretary.
Principal Chief Engineer cum Secretary Roads and Bridges Department, Mr Sharma also published the first tender today. He thanked the National Informatics Centre [NIC] and IT for their support and for providing technical experts for the project.
Project Director ADB Projects cum Nodal Officer E-procurement Roads and Bridges Department, PK Bhujel said that the e-tendering process facilitates or enhances confidentiality and added that this system can be used anywhere in any part of India.
“This service ensures authenticity and is hassle-free. One can put in tenders sitting at home and get all the information as well”, said Mr Bhujel.
A complete package which consists of Bid opening, Bid evaluation and pre-bid meetings with the contractors is called e-procurement.
The website is www.sikkimtender.gov.in. and any one can visit the site from today itself.
The mechanism is digital, a certifying company named National Informative Centre Certified Agency [NIICA] issues a Digital Signature Certificate [DSC], without this DSC one cannot access or login. Every department, user and contractor is issued with the login ID and password to go through the site.
NIC Director, Birendra Chettri said that more than one and a half lakh tenders have been submitted and any tender which is above 3 crore will be posted in the website.
Adding further Mr Chettri said that the process of bidding online is encrypted and therefore confidentiality is assured.
“With the help of the team of NIC, Secretary Roads and Bridges and all the staff we completed this project in a short span of time”, added Mr Chettri.
Also present were the Scientific Officer [NIC] Abhijit Roy, Assistant Engineer Project [R&BD] Sonam Dadul, Assistant Engineer e-procurement [R&BD] Kamal Rasaily, PCE Cum Secretary [R&BD] GS Sharma, Principal Director [IT] R Verma and Additional Chief Engineer South/West [R&BD] RK Pariyar.

Roads & Bridges Deptt gears up for monsoons

GANGTOK, 10 June: Keeping in mind the vulnerability the state highways during the monsoon onslaught, the Roads and Bridges Department has identified landslide prone areas across the State and deployed all required equipment and manpower to avert any eventualities and inconveniences that commuters might have to face.
Speaking to NOW!, Chief Engineer GT Bhutia informed that the department, considering the eventualities that may occur in the monsoon, has already allocated men and machines in all districts and sub divisions to avert any inconvenience to the general masses. Apart from that the department has also identified vulnerable areas for which the department has sought the assistance of private companies inclusive of their men and machines to keep the roads clear. The machines owned by the department like JCVs, excavators, dozers, along with man power has been deployed and no state highway connecting any district is blocked as of now.
He went on to add that the department has also identified few of the vulnerable areas of all four districts like 16th Mile near Jorethang, Ghorley Bhir, Bojek slip near Daramdin, Mangzing slip, Dhojok, Assam-Lingzey-Pakyong road, Salalay Khola, Duga-Pakyong road and many more which often create problems for transportation due to landslides.
Torrential rainfall for the past few days has been causing slides in many areas across the state blocking motorable roads but the department has been putting in every effort to clear the roads within no time of the blockages, said the CE.
Speaking on the condition of bridges, the CE said that, in the wake of the devastating earthquake on 18 September, 2011 numerous bridges across the state had been damaged following which the department carried out the safety arrangements of the bridges by engaging structure engineers or bridge experts from Jadavpur University, the experts also placed recommendations on remedial measures to be adopted along with suggestions on repair of a few bridges.
The experts conducted a detailed study of the state owned bridges and out of 212 state bridges 55 were declared vulnerable wherein the re-construction of the same is being initiated by the department, added Mr Bhutia. He mentioned that the re-habilitation of the identified vulnerable bridges is being done under the Prime Minister’s relief package.
With respect to the Toong-Shipgyer road which offers alternative connectivity to Chungthang, Lachen and Lachung, he informed that up-gradation of the same was approved and passed by the Chief Minister, during his 42-days village-to-village tour last year. The work order has also been provided to a cooperative society to initiate the work at the earliest.
Whereas with regards to the four major roads connecting South and West District proposed by state government and approved by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highway amounting to Rs. 636 crores the evaluation and technical and financial bidding have already been completed, it is informed. The same has been forwarded to the minister for approval for the commencement of work and sanction, the CE added.

CM underlines responsibility of contractors towards development

ROADS & BRIDGES DEPTT ORGANIZES COORDINATION MEET WITH GOVT CONTRACTORS 
GANGTOK, 14 May [IPR]: “Contractors are directly and equally responsible in the development of the state as they are always regarded as part and parcel of the government in the course of their work,” said the Chief Minister Pawan Chamling at a coordination meeting with government contractors of the state organized by the Roads and Bridges Department at Chintan Bhawan, Gangtok on 12 May. The meeting was held with the objective to discuss on quality control, management and speedy implementation of developmental schemes chaired by the Chief Minister.
While talking about the objective of the meeting, the CM said that the purpose of the meeting was to provide a platform and opportunity to discuss the developmental activities of the state and also to acknowledge the role of contractors in the development process.
Talking about the various aspects of contractual works, the CM expressed that contractors should work with utmost dedication and honesty towards any project entrusted to them as they are creating infrastructure for the future of the state.
He added that being a part of the government, contractors should not compromise on quality to ensure respect for the profession. The CM also remembered the contractors who had contributed for the society and are an example for the society. In their course of work, besides the profit motive, the sense of belonging towards the state should act as motivation to work for the development of the state, the Chief Minister added.
Talking about the various initiatives of the government the CM added that contractors have a major role in this regard as they are the people who work in the field. Talking about the concept of e-tendering the CM said that this has to be implemented for the larger interest of the contractors as this will keep aside the middlemen involved in the contractual work.
In this regard, he advised the contractors to enhance their computer knowledge and update themselves with the recent developments so as to enable themselves to compete under this system. He also talked about the government decision of allotting works to the cooperative societies to safeguard the interest of the smaller contractors of the rural areas.
The works department has been directed to frame rules to safeguard the interest of the local contractors, the CM added. Stressing on the demands placed by the contractors the Chief Minister assured to decrease the interest rate of mobilizing fund of the work from 10% to 5% and also excuse 1% of labour cess for working contractors. He also assured to give priority on payment of the bills for ongoing schemes of all departmental works and urged the contractors to complete the work in the scheduled time. “ I will protect the interest of the people in any cost and will remain rigid on this commitment forever”, said the CM.
Earlier, Chief Engineer, Building and Housing Department, C Zangpo in his welcome address said that such kind of programme was being organised for the first time in Sikkim with the objective of motivating stake holders in the development of the state. He suggested that contractors should make proper and sincere use of certificate and document provided by the government.
On behalf of the all contractors of Sikkim, Chetan Sharma thanked the Chief Minister for the revision of Schedule of Rates and encouragement of private sector investors in the state which is very much favorable for their profession.
The programme concluded with the vote of thanks proposed by Mr. Uttam Pradhan, Chief Engineer(Mechanical), Energy and Power Department.

CM interacts with technocrats, calls for quality work

ANUSHA GURUNG
GANGTOK, 04 May: An interactive meeting was organised by the Department of Roads and Bridges on quality management, control and speedy implementation of various developmental schemes of the state government at Chintan Bhawan here today. The meeting was chaired by the Chief Minister of the state.
Minister Roads and Bridges Department   RB Subba, Secretary Roads and Bridges Department, GS Sharma, Secretary Irrigation and Flood Control Department, Rakesh Khanna, Secretary Energy and Power Department, AK Giri, and other officials were present at the meeting.
The programme started with a welcome address by GS Sharma, which was followed by Secretary Rakesh Khanna’s address.
While addressing all the technocrats of the state the Chief Minister advised them to ensure the quality of the infrastructures created by the government and complete it within the stipulated time. The infrastructures so created utilizing public money are meant for the larger interest of the public and the technocrats being at the implementing stage of various schemes should be very responsible towards the people and the government, said the CM. With their technical knowledge they should ensure that the work undertaken is be technically sound, he added.
Stressing on the profession of engineering the Chief Minister said that as technocrats, the engineers are designers of all the wonders of the world and the same is expected from them for the development of the state. Further, he advised them to learn from the expertise of the other parts of the world and implement it in the state.
The state government is spending good amount of its resource for the capacity building of its fellow citizens, he said and advised them to take advantage of such programmes of the government for the benefit of the state’s future. Talking about the abundance of natural resources of the state the Chief Minister asked the engineers to plan the developmental strategies in such a way that the natural resources of the state is well utilized for revenue generation.
At the same time he cautioned that while planning and implementing the programmes, protection of the environment and ecology should be kept in mind. In the course of their activities, the Chief Minister advised them to work in such a manner that the state becomes a laboratory of the country where people from all round the globe turn up for research activities.
Talking about the Bhaley Dhunga Sky Walk Project the Chief Minister said that the government plans to develop it as a state-of-the-art project which requires dedication and hardwork from every one involved in this project. The project after its completion will be an asset of the state as well as of the country and will project the country throughout the world, he added.
He also advised the engineers to be very serious in their day-to-day activities towards the people of the state and urged them not to compromise in the quality during the implementation of various construction works. Talking about the various restoration works in the aftermath of the earthquake the Chief Minister asked the technocrats to be very diligent in implementing the works. The works should be qualitative and time bound, he added. He also asked them to work for the fulfillment of the commitments made by the government during the 42 days village-to-village tour.
The programme also saw submission of memorandum of demands by the engineers of the state to the Chief Minister which was presented by PCE cum Secretary, Water Security and PHE Department, TB Rajalim.
PCE-cum-Secretary, Irrigation and FC Department, Rakesh Khanna placed a brief report of the developmental activities going on in the state and the role of the engineers in its implementation. He also ensured the Chief Minister that the engineering fraternity will leave no stone unturned to fulfill the cherished dream of the government to make Sikkim an example in the nation.
The programme was also attended by the Speaker, SLAS, Dy. Speaker, SLAS, Cabinet Ministers, MLA’s,  Mayor, GMC, Zilla Adyakshas, Dy. Mayor, GMC, Advisors, Chairpersons, Chief Secretary, Heads of the department and engineers from all the departments of the state government.

Roads & Bridges Deptt rescinds work order for road project challenged in High Court

GANGTOK, 17 April: The Roads & Bridges Department has rescinded the work order issued for the Sangkhola Sumin Road cancelling the road construction project which had come under the scanner of the High Court following a writ petition filed by Delay Namgyal Barfungpa.
An order issued by the Department on 16 April states that the work order for the upgradation and premix carpeting, including protective & drainage works, for construction of the road along with Sangkhola Sumin Road from KM 15 to KM 19 and another work comprising 3 km of road from Sangkhola Sumin to Mangthan which had been awarded to Amit Agarwal has been rescinded. This follows the observation of the High Court of Sikkim earlier that the process of the awarding of the work to the said contractor by the State government prima facie appeared to be illegal and arbitrary. As earlier reported, the court had issued a stay order on further construction of the said road project.
Following the cancellation of the work order the court noted that the petition was now infructious. Mr. Barfungpa today claimed that this was a victory. It remains to be seen as to what the department will do with the central funds of Rs. 7 crore sanctioned for the said road project. Furthermore counsel for the respondent contractor claimed that Rs. 2 crore had already been invested by him in the road project.
The project pertains to the Sangkhola Sumin Road, for the construction of which the Cabinet had sanctioned Rs. 7,08,46,979 some months back. The road project was sanctioned under a centrally sponsored scheme relating to the north eastern region of the country. With the documents made available, it was observed that work to the tune of Rs. 46,39,880 out of the total cost had been executed by the contractor which comes to only 6.5% of the works having been completed.
In its last order, the High Court had observed that it was absolutely clear that the respondent contractor had been allotted two different contracts without advertisement. The court had further noted that the allotment of the two works without advertisement was prima facie arbitrary and illegal action on the part of the department and had ordered a stay on further execution of the works by the respondent contractor.
With the petition being disposed today, the court also observed that it was up to the respondent contractor to claim compensation for his expenses on the works from the department and for which a fresh petition could also be filed.
Appearing for the petitioner was Advocate Sudesh Joshi with Ms Manita Pradhan; for the state was Additional AG, JB Pradhan and for the respondent contractor, advocate Gulshan Rai Nagpal.

Roads and Bridges Minister inspects ongoing road construction work in West Sikkim

DIRECTS CONTRACTORS AND OFFICIALS TO EXPEDITE WORK ON WAR-FOOTING
GANGTOK, 14 Mar: Minister Roads and Bridges, RB Subba inspected two ongoing road construction works from Intake power house to Jhakri Dhunga and Sopakha to Chewabhanjyang in West Sikkim on Tuesday. He was accompanied by Superintendent Engineer, Roads and Bridges [West], Divisional Engineer, Roads and Bridges Deptt [Gyalshing], DFO [Wildlife], ACF [Territorial], Assistant Engineer and Junior Engineer Roads and Bridges Deptt [Kaluk Sub-division], concerned contractors, panchayat and local public.
A press release informs that the Minister walked throughout up to 3.40 Kms length along trace cut road of Jhakri Dhunga. He expressed displeasure at the slow pace of work and directed the contractors and the officials to expedite the work on war-footing and complete the work at the earliest.
He further directed the contractors to make the trace cut length of 3.40 Kms trafficable within 40 days without fail, for which he took an undertaking from the contractors, the release mentions. He has directed the officials of the Department to extend maximum support by issuing requisite stock materials and machinery to the contractors. He observed that the road needs to be re-aligned to avoid massive rock cutting involved in the original alignment in order to ensure timely completion of the road.
While re-aligning the road private lands need to be acquired for which the Minister directed the Panchayats and public to pursue the matter with the landowners and submit NOC to the department at the earliest. For connectivity to the Upper Ferek busty he expressed that it would be better to provide a bifurcated link road of about one kilometre from the road towards Jhakri Dhunga. He also directed the officials to conduct a survey for the link road to Parengaon.
The release further informs that regarding the 18 Km long road from Sopakha to Chewabhanjyang under construction he directed the contractor to make the road trafficable up to 5.50 Kms within 20 days positively. Beyond 5.50 Kms, 12.50 Kms length of the road runs along the reserved forest land and Kanchanjunga Biosphere. For necessary clearance he has directed the DFO [Wildlife] and ACF [Territorial] to render full cooperation to the Department so that the Government’s top priority project is completed within the stipulated time, the release adds.

Earthquake Damaged roads to be repaired on War footing by next Monsoon instructs CM

FUNDS READY FOR R&B DEPTT TO UNDERTAKE ROAD REPAIRS
GANGTOK, 16 Feb: The state Roads & Bridges department is finally all set to repair the damaged road network in the state with the government finally ready to release funds to the department. In fact, and as per the instructions of the chief minister, the department is targeting late February or early March by when work should commence as the repair works of damaged roads have to be completed before the onset of the next monsoon rains. As Secretary, GS Sharma stated, this is also the direction of the chief minister that road repair works should be completed as soon as possible for the convenience of the public as well as the tourists. Once work commences, it will be undertaken on a war footing, as the R&B Secretary stated.
The department is expecting funds to the tune of Rs.150 crore to Rs.200 crore for taking up repair and reconstruction of damaged roads in the state. This amount is to be released promptly and it is informed by the Secretary, R&B that the Detailed Project Reports are also on the verge of completion and which will be submitted to the state government within the week. These DPRs, prepared for the amount released, will then be forwarded to the Ministry of Home Affairs, government of India. There is also the direction of the CM that the DPRs be submitted immediately.
The R&B department had initially made a DPR of Rs.1700 crore for undertaking all repair and reconstruction of roads damaged by the earthquake of 18 September, 2012. However as the central government is releasing funds under different sources and schemes the funds are being released piecemeal and for which the department had to rework on its DPRs for re-submission. It was also informed that the centre has assured that there will be more funds coming in the next financial year for the undertaking of road repairs and for which the department would again have to prepare another set of DPRs.
Secretary, GS Sharma informed that the extent of repair works to be undertaken will be according to the funds that the department will receive. In this respect it was informed that only those portions of roads which have been damaged will be repaired. The number of roads to be repaired will also depend on the amount released. Some roads which have been totally damaged would have to be carpeted again totally that is, 100%; other roads will receive carpeting depending on the extent of damage, which may range from 30% to 40% or 50% of the road length depending on the damage extent.
The department is targeting getting the roads ready by May or first week of June and the government is also seized of the fact that for this to be possible work has to commence immediately. Following the normal process of issuing tender notices etc takes a minimum of 45 days which would delay the repair works to be undertaken. In such a scenario where there is the need of urgency, especially in view of public convenience, there is a possibility that the government may decide to do the work departmentally and which is also provided for in the SPWD Code under a special provision.

Roads & Bridges Minister inspects repairs along North Sikkim Highway

CHUNTHANG-LACHUNG ROAD EXPECTED TO TAKE 4 MORE DAYS TO CLEARMANGAN, 18 Oct: The Chungthang-Lachung road axis in North Sikkim, blocked by a rash of landslides ever since the 18 September Earthquake, is expected to be cleared for traffic over the next four days.

STATUS REPORT ON OF ROADS AS ON 10 Oct

GANGTOK, 17 Oct: The massive earthquake that rocked the State on 18 September 2011 caused a number of major and minor damages to the road network. Many bridges were also affected and connectivity snapped to a great extent. The continuous rainfall thereafter further aggravated the situation and hampered relief and rescue operations as well.

Bridge where no road exists and no bitumen for roads crying for blacktopping

INTEGRATED AUDIT OF ROADS & BRIDGES DEPARTMENT UNRAVELS THE MESS WITHIN
CARTELISATION OF TENDERS: 21,387 contractors, but no competitive bidding
GANGTOK: The Roads & Bridges Department got a Rs. 1.91 crore steel bridge on the road to Khedum village in North Sikkim approved by the North East Council in March 2005 so that the villagers could transport agricultural produce to markets at Chungthang and Mangan. This work, awarded at 25 per cent above the estimated cost was already running more than 3 years late when auditors from the Comptroller and Auditor General’s office visited the site in August 2010. It was 99 per cent complete [at an expenditure of Rs. 1.66 crore], but the villagers were still carrying agricultural and other essential commodities by head-load through a small log bridge.
Why?
The CAG Report for the year ended 31 March 2010, tabled in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, reveals that the Department did not establish road connectivity on both sides of the bridge. The bridge spans a stream at a spot where no one travels!
Closer to Gangtok, lies the Ranka-Luing-Burtuk road, for the blacktopping of which, the Department assessed a requirement of 760 drums of bitumen. The proposal was sanctioned in 2004-05. In October 2005, when the Department got around to acquiring the supply, it purchased only 576 drums. Of this, it issued only 130 drums to the Ranka-Luing-Burtuk road and diverted the rest to works undertaken in and around Gangtok. Five years down the line, the diversion has not been made good, and upgradation work on the Ranka-Burtuk stretch, originally scheduled for completion by July 2006, remains incomplete.
Revelations like these pepper the Integrated Audit of the Roads & Bridges Department [covering 5 years from 2005-06 to 2009-10] by the CAG office. The Sikkim Public Works [Roads & Bridges] Department, one may add here, is the oldest State Government Department. Its planning and financial handling, however, reflect a juvenile propensity for thrift and waywardness.