THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: E-payment facility was commissioned in PWD on Wednesday making it the first department to introduce e-procurement in the state.
Minister for Industries and IT P K Kunhalikutty inaugurated the e-payment facility during ‘Perspective,’ a seminar on ‘Modernisation and Road Safety Initiatives in Public Works’, jointly organised by the PWD and Kesari Memorial Journalists Trust here.
E-payment facility, by which the contractors will get payment through corporate internet banking, has been launched in association with the State Bank of Travancore.
The facility will give SMS updates to the contractor about the transactions. PWD has already introduced e-notification and e-tendering in the department.
PWD Minister V K Ebrahim Kunju termed the introduction of e-payment as ‘’the commitment of a transparent and corruption-free government.’’
PWD Manual Release
After a gap of 40 years, PWD revised its manual. The revised manual was
released by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Wednesday by handing over a copy to PWD Minister Ebrahim Kunju.
Revenue Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishanan released PWD’s in-house magazine ‘Rajaveethi’ by handing over a copy to PWD Principal Secretary P H Kurian.
‘Priority to
Infrastructure
Development’
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that the state had failed to realise the importance of infrastructure development. ‘’In the past, the state gave thrust to the betterment of health and education, ignoring infrastructure development. This government will give priority to infrastructure development. Not just roads, development of railways and coastal transport will be given due importance,’’ he said. He said land acquisition is the major hurdle for development. ‘’Land acquisition is the major hurdle in completing the projects in a time-bound manner. The government will make those giving the land the prime beneficiary of the respective project,’’ he said. He also criticised the protest against collection of toll.
‘’Finding funds entirely from state budget is not practical. PPP models, BOT, annuity and other forms of funding are needed. This kind of protest is not practical in this 21st century,’’ the Chief Minister said.
Ministers P J Joseph, K Babu, V S Sivakumar, M K Muneer, deputy leader of Opposition Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, SBT general manager T K Johnson, CGM M C Jacob, KUWJ president Siby Kattampally, secretary Suresh Vellimangalam, among others, attended the seminar. The two-day seminar will conclude on Thursday.
‘Metro man’ E Sreedharan will speak on ‘Implementation of major projects - the challenges involved’ in the seminar on Thursday.
Planning Board member C P John will present paper on ‘Mandates and initiatives in road sector under the policies of new government.’
Another Planning Board member G Vijayaraghavan will speak on ‘Accountability, ethics and principles of management personnel in public sector.’