Panaji: Civil contractors in the state, on Monday, reacted positively to the amendment to the Rules of Enlistment of Contractors in PWD/WRD, 2020, declaring that it (amendment) would benefit Goan contractors and encourage local youth to get into the contracting business.
Although the amendment is in effect from May 14, 2020, the contractors in the state have only now started getting work with the opening up of the economy from pandemic lockdown.
Explaining the advantages of the changes brought about by the amended rules, members of the All Goa Civil Contractors Welfare Association (AGCCWA), said that, it has reduced the amount required for Solvency Certificate as well as revised the rate for obtaining new, upgrading as well as renewal of enlistment thereby making enlistment affordable to the local contractors.
Furthermore, five years of continuous domicile in the state has been made mandatory for civil engineer who wants to get enlisted as a contractor with the PWD or WRD or who wishes to be a partner in a firm enlisted as a contractor.
Rupesh Pangam, president of AGCCWA said, “The amendment is a positive step to provide livelihood and employment opportunities to the sons of the soil.”
It may be recalled that the central PWD had framed the new Rules of Enlistment of Contractors in PWD/WRD, 2020 by taking the base of specifications of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH).
“The conditions in the central rules would have resulted in Goan contractors enlisted with the state PWD and WRD losing their licences. It would have resulted in huge losses for contractors and helped big construction companies make inroads into the Goa market,” said Pangam.
He said that a delegation of AGCCWA met the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to apprise him of the situation, and suggested amendments to the state Rules after which the Chief Minister made the swift decision of making the required amendments.
He said that as per MORTH specifications, it was mandatory to acquire machinery. However, looking at the annual quantum of work offered to Goan contractors, it was not at all possible for them to afford to fulfil the existing criteria.
Pangam addressed the medias in the presence of Nityaanand Kalangutkar, treasurer Shailendra Kanekar, Tulshidas Parab and Anant Naik, members and Nitesh Parab, secretary of AGCCWA.
According to the AGCCWA, there are about 250-300 contractors in the state of different categories ranging from Class 1 to Class 4, of which about 170 contractors are of Class 1A and 1B.
