Govt sets up Panel on cost escalation

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 1: The Government today ordered constitution of a Standing Committee comprising top bureaucrats to assess the reasons for cost escalation of the projects for which the departments were seeking revised administrative approval.
The Administrative Secretary, Planning and Development Department, will be Chairman of the Standing Committee, an official order issued today by the General Administration Department, said.
Other members of the Committee included the Administrative Secretaries of Power Development Department, Public Works (R&B) Department, PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control and Development Commissioner, Works.
The Administrative Secretary of the concerned department will be Member Secretary of the Committee.
The Committee will assess reasons for time and cost over-runs against the pre-defined parameters so as to reduce the scope for discretion and open ended cost and time escalation.
It will also undertake detailed examination of the basis/reasons for cost and time over-runs before recommending the accord of administrative approval to the revised cost of projects valuing above a given threshold to ensure an element of structured accountability in project implementation.
The Committee will also fix responsibility of the concerned officers in every case in which the over-runs are not justified.