Execution of works at other sites not in contract

Shared Documents Joined: May 02, 2005 No. of Replies: 1236

Many times maintenance works of small magnitudes are required to be executed urgently due to oncoming visit of VIPs, before inspections or after inspections of higher ups. Can we execute these works in an existing contract awarded for a work at a different location/ purpose especially when the work is urgent or the magnitude of the work is too small to call a tender.

Para 758E states that any anticipated or actual saving on a sanctioned estimate for a definite project should not be without the approval of competant authority be applied to carry out additional works not contemplated in the original project or fairly contigent on its actual execution.Who is competant to approve such works at different location or for a different purpose

Variations/extra items are permitted in the SOP as well as the GCC under the powers of competant authority. But are these for the same works or purpose for which the work was sanctioned and contract awarded or can it be diverted to other new works at different location or purpose.

Shared Documents Joined: No. of Replies: 977

under the circumstances mentioned by you ,the work can not be assigned to existing contractor . To meet such situations ,Railway has system of zonal contractors where any unforseen work can be assigned to them

Shared Documents Joined: May 02, 2005 No. of Replies: 1236

In Zonal contract we are inviting offers on %age rate for groups of items what we describe as different schedules. On Western Railway, the SOR was last revised during 1993 (effective from 1.4.94) and the rates of some of the items have increased steeply and the rates of some items have not increased much. Thus has resulted into some items becoming profitable to contractor and some becoming loss items. The rates of zonal tenders have also fallen down when compared to rates of any other special works making it very difficult for the executives to get done the items which are causing loss to the contractor. So some equivilibrium between the loss items and profit items have to be maintained if the Engineer wants to get some work done as otherwise the contract fails and one may not be able to get any work done. Again if the tender is terminated and reinvited another contractor will again quote a low rate and get us in a vitious circle. After the rates detoriate it becomes very difficult for the tender committee to finalise the zonal tender when a higher (when compared to last LAR) but a workkable rate is received as no analysis based on market rates is possible in a zonal tender as items are not fixed.

Further there are a number of Non-schedule items which are not available in the zonal contracts.

Since para 758E gives a provision for execution of such works with approval of competant authority, there has to be some authority who can grant such permissions after taking reasonable care that the rates of the items being executed for some other purpose is not unreasonably high. After all the authority who got done the work for other purpose at higher rates in another contract can always be held responsible at any stage and therefore one will be more cautious in such circumstances.

This will be a boon to the Engineer who get blackmailed by his zonal contractor as otherwise he can depend on other contractors for such emergent works. A successful Engineer is the one who gets the work executed and some times this has to be done by hook & crook as well.

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in such condition either give work on quotations or if you invariably want to use existing contractor ,then power to modify the contract is withc ontract signing authority as per chapter 12 of engg code

Shared Documents Joined: May 02, 2005 No. of Replies: 1236

The powers of modification of contract are not with the contract signing authority but with the accepting authority. But the acceptance authority is responsible for all his acts if he is diverting the saving of a project to another project which is not a part of the sanctioned work.

At times we may execute a staff amenity work in a contract of passenger amenity work. Some times we may execute a work of repairs to a work which is chargeable to capital and the rate of projected return could get affected.

The authority mentioned in para 758E for such modifications in my openion should be the authority who had given the administrative approval for the work when it was included in Pink book/Green book/law book/Mini law book because he had given the approval based on the abstract estimate, justification of the work and other financial aspects of the proposal

Shared Documents Joined: No. of Replies: 977

first line of para 1265 of engg code is as under
The power to vary the terms of a contract lies only with actual parties thereto' ie person actually entered into contract which means signatory of contract

scope of this para is
Variation of the conditions of contract
Variation of the Items. -These may be varied at discretion of the authority which approved the original contract to the following extent, viz., existing items may be deleted or additional items inserted

However I feel that it is not proper to execute such work in existing contract which are not envisaged earlier unless they are part & parcel of ongoing work & was left due to oversight

Shared Documents Joined: May 02, 2005 No. of Replies: 1236

As far as Western Railway is concerned, the powers of modification of contract are with accepting authority as per SOP Part`E' as under:-

(a) Sanctioned of increased quantities - para 23.4
(b) Introduction of new conditions/modification of existing conditions - Para 23.5
(c) Introduction of new items of works - para 23.6

In western Railway, the agreement signing authority is one step below the accepting authority. What are the powers of modification of contract in other Railways.

A exception for the rule has been given in para 758E. I wanted to know who is the competant authority mentioned in para 758E.

Shared Documents Joined: No. of Replies: 977

The competant authority for para 758 E is person who has sanctioned the original estimate. but this only cover to execute work in that estimate & does not cover to get work executed through existing contract

pl note that work & contract are separate thing .One work of new line may 20 contract & 20 small works can have one consolidated contract

Shared Documents Joined: May 02, 2005 No. of Replies: 1236

Thank you sir. The doubt is cleared.