KOLLAM: The district unit of the Corporation Contractors’ Federation has protested against the delay in reinstating the earlier method used to calculate project cost.
At present, the government wants the projects to be calculated based on the rates used by the Central Public Works Department, discontinuing the rates followed by the state’s PWD.
According to the district president of Contractors’ Federation Saji A Nair, the PWD rates had the tender-above option, which would take care of the increased wage and material costs in the state.
This practice made the contractors take up the projects of local self-governments such as corporations at the estimated rates.
The Federation members said that a cost index specific to the state was usually provided along with the standard Delhi Schedule of Rates. But the Federation alleged that the govt delayed issuing the cost index for four districts, including Kollam.
T’Puram has been allotted the index of 1.5 and this would translate to 15 per cent of the total cost. Considering the inflation, the contractors in Kollam would get 20 per cent less compared to last year, they said.