BHUBANESWAR: Amid the allegations over rising dependence on private agencies for core engineering works in government projects, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has directed the chief secretary to conduct an in-depth review of all outsourcing practices adopted by engineering departments in the last 10 years.
In a strongly worded note (accessed by TNIE), the chief minister has flagged that engineering departments, which traditionally carry out surveys, investigations, project designs, cost estimates and preparation of detailed project reports (DPRs) using in-house expertise, have increasingly resorted to outsourcing these responsibilities to private firms. This trend, he stated, has been observed even in the case of minor infrastructure projects that could have easily been executed by government engineers.
Emphasising that departments such as Works, Rural Development, Water Resources, and Housing and Urban Development have well-established technical wings with qualified and experienced engineers, Majhi questioned why such expertise was being sidelined.
“Earlier, the government engineers used to undertake these tasks diligently. The current outsourcing trend raises serious questions about the under-utilisation of the capabilities of government departments and the justification behind increasing project costs,” read the note.
The CM has asked the chief secretary to submit a detailed report within a month outlining which departments have outsourced technical works in the last 10 years, the nature of the works outsourced and the private companies engaged, besides the financial outlay involved in these assignments.
He also wanted to know whether the departments, or any other state government agencies, were capable of doing the same work and measures needed to empower them to execute such work in-house, including training and procurement of modern equipment.
While the BJP-led government has started initiating a probe into the alleged practice, insiders pointed out that the practice of engaging external consultants and private agencies gained significant traction during the previous government.
“The use of project management units (PMUs) and technical consultants had become institutionalised across various departments under the earlier regime. Although these arrangements were often justified as a means to augment capacity and expedite execution, it gradually eroded departmental accountability and suppressed in-house expertise,” they alleged.