NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has set up the National Council for Public Works (NCPW), a central coordinating body to bring together technical agencies such as CPWD and Metro Corporations for seamless information exchange, aiming at smoother implementation of projects and quality work.
The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister is the chief patron of the newly formed council, while the MoHUA secretary will serve as the chairman of the body.
According to an official note —issued in March—the platform will act as a common shared service for the whole sector with technical contributions coming from all levels, including industry and academia. The officials said that the objective and purpose of the national agency is integration, coordination, and capacity building.
On Tuesday, the council held its first meeting in which the secretary, MoHUA, explained the purpose of the council to the stakeholders.
The minister of state for housing and urban affairs has been designated as patron with the representatives of central and state agencies, experts, and other institutions as members. The president will be elected from among the members on rotation. The DG of CPWD will be the member secretary.
The ministry encompasses several technical organizations, including the CPWD, Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation, Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC), Metro Rail Corporations, Electric Vehicle Companies, and other specialised agencies that interface with the country’s complex urban infrastructure network represented by nearly 4,800 municipal bodies and their respective state authorities.
Considering the vast ecosystem of agencies, governments and technical organisations, there is a pressing need to bridge coordination gaps to enhance the quality, efficiency and sustainability of urban infrastructure in the country; hence, the Council has come into existence, said officials.
“It has been felt that a coordinating organisation amongst all the technical arms dealing with the urban transformation of India is required to be set up to facilitate seamless exchange of information, standardisation of practices, adoption of codal practices and common approaches to project implementation and enhancement of quality,” read the note.
MoS patron, president to be elected from members
The minister of state for housing and urban affairs has been designated as patron with the representatives of central and state agencies, experts, and other institutions as members. The president will be elected from among the members on rotation.