Buildings and water remit cut, PWD has only roadworks now

Panaji: State govt recently carved out a drinking water department (DWD) from the public works department (PWD). Now, the state has issued an order handing the responsibility of the buildings division of the PWD entirely to the principal secretary of the department.

With drinking water and buildings sections’ functioning fully separated, the PWD has been for the first time left to deal with only roads and bridges.The order was issued this month to refer all files relating to the buildings division directly to the secretary or the principal secretary of the PWD for scrutiny or clearance. It was felt by govt that this will ensure timely and effective execution of maintenance works of govt buildings.The order states that the principal chief engineer of the PWD will now handle files only pertaining to roads (including bridges), besides operating as the department head for all administrative purposes.“The decision was taken to fast-track the processing of files as maintenance works are urgently needed due to risk during monsoons to govt buildings, many of which are old,” said a source.The PWD itself has been internally restructured by placing eight staffers to work exclusively for the drinking water department and another eight for the buildings section.

However, the drastic restructuring is causing worry among many staffers, sources said.“Staffers are worried that allotting them to a different department may affect their prospects for promotion etc, as there is no clarity on these aspects yet,” a source said. “It can affect staff motivation. They do not know where they stand in the hierarchy after the restructuring.”The source added, “The DWD and the PWD will bifurcate fully eventually and a separate budget allotment for the DWD has been announced in the budget.

However, revenue distribution between the departments also needs to be sorted out.”Officials said that with a budget of over Rs 800 crore for the DWD, it is yet to get a separate budget head for accounting purposes. Also, clarity is needed to be established on administrative rules in tune with general finance rules to avoid chaos, the source said.