THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The 'pre-check' system introduced by Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) for verification of contractor billsand violation/adherence of contract conditions, under the transmission wing of the board, has run into rough weather.
According to an internal circular of KSEB, officers in charge of the pre-check system were not showing much interest in cross-checking the bills before sanctioning it.
The pre-check system has been in force in the generation wing for long and to an extent in the distribution wing.
However, the system was introduced in the transmission wing in March 2012 to ensure financial discipline. Within a short period after the introduction the pre-check system, some serious irregularities were observed in execution of work and purchase of materials at various stages, ranging from estimate preparation to payment, stated the circular.
"Estimates were prepared without depending on realistic data specific to work proposed. In many cases the estimates were prepared by adopting a 'cut and paste method' from the estimates of similar works instead of evaluating the actual requirement.
Similarly, there are instances like inviting tender for the already executed work, issuance of work order/purchase order in violation of delegation of powers, delay in execution of agreement, tampering/altering agreement conditions and clauses pertaining to levying of statutory recoveries without approval of the board," the order said.
Sources said there were even instances where officers, in charge of works, kept in their custody the demand drafts collected from contractors as security and earnest money deposit. Later, such DDs were handed over to the contractors. Instances are plenty where time extensions were granted retrospectively based on delayed requests.
"It's true that the board has identified some serious lapses and the volume of loss incurred due to this factor. We have given strict directives to implement the pre-check system properly," said board finance member S Venugopal.Thiruvananthapuram: The pre-check'' system introduced by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) for verification of contractors bills and violation/adherence of contract conditions in works under the transmission wing of the board has run to rough weather.
According to an internal circular of the board, officers in charge of the pre-check system were not showing much interest in cross checking the bills before sanctioning it.
The pre-check system is in force in the generation wing of the board for long and to an extent in distribution wing. However the system was introduced in transmission wing in March 2012, in a bid to usher in financial discipline in the transmission sector.
Within a short period after the introduction of pre-check in transmission wing, some serious irregularities and lapses are observed in the execution of work and purchase of materials at various stages from estimate preparation to payment, say the circular.
Estimates were seen preparing without depending on realistic data specific to work proposed. It is notified that in many cases that estimates were prepared by adopting 'cut and paste method' from the estimates of similar works instead of evaluating the actual requirement. Similarly, there are instances like inviting tender for the already executed work, issuance of work order/purchase order in violation of delegation of powers, delay in execution of agreement, tampering/altering agreement conditions and clauses pertaining to levying of statutory recoveries without approval of the board'', the order said.
Sources said there were even instances in which officers in charge of works keep in their custody the Demand Drafts collected from contractors as security and earnest money deposit. Later, such DDs are handed over to the contractors. Instances are plenty where time extensions were granted retrospectively based on delayed requests.
It's true that the board has identified some serious lapses in implementing the pre-check system in transmission wing. We have not evaluated the volume of loss incurred by the board due to the lapses. We have given strict instructions to follow the instructions on pre-check system without fail'', the board finance member S Venugopal said.
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