BENGALURU: Public Works Department Minister CC Patil on Monday said his department will not take up any new work which will cause unnecessary expenditure for the state, as the government is setting financial discipline.
Speaking at the assembly, he blamed the previous government for spillover works and for taking up more work but with no fund allocation. “This has led to a financial crisis which we are sorting out at present. They have taken up more work than the allocated funds, which is why we are facing a fund crunch. This has increased pending bills every year,” he said.
Patil said that in order to bring in financial discipline, unnecessary projects will not be approved. He also pointed out that Covid had added to the financial crisis. He also spoke of the bidder who quoted 25-30 per cent lower than the tender rate.
“We need to look at their work, and if they compromise on the quality of work. This is our responsibility,’’ he told the House. Earlier, some of the MLAs had raised the issue of the bidder quoting less. He also said they are planning to introduce a Schedule of Rate system for all construction works.