The inspection teams of the NSC also asked the state government to dismantle a substantial portion of the building and reconstruct the same. (File) Serious structural discrepancies have been detected in the ongoing construction of multi-crore Aryabhatta Vigyan Kendra at Ambala. The Delhi-based National Science Centre, monitoring the progress of the prestigious project, has called the construction of the building “far from satisfactory” and “much below par”. The inspection teams of the NSC also asked the state government to dismantle a substantial portion of the building and reconstruct the same.
Additional Chief Secretary (Science and Technology) Ashok Khemka has flagged the issue to the state’s Science and Technology Minister and suggested that the guilty officers be made to pay the excess cost needed for correcting the structural faults in the building.
The project, a science centre, is coming up at a cost of Rs 36.05 crore on a five-acre plot near Ambala-Delhi national highway in Ambala Cantonment, the constituency of Home Minister Anil Vij, who also holds the Science and Technology portfolio. This science centre is expected to display facts and information on different subjects, including space and agricultural technology. The state was looking to get the building ready by June this year. However, officers now say the construction may get delayed by as much as one year.
“Issues flagged in the inspection report pertain to structural stability and are of serious nature. The inspection report of the National Science Centre bring shame to the State PWD (B&R),” Khemka wrote to Vij.
The senior IAS officer said that he wrote to the Additional Chief Secretary, PWD (B&R) on March 17 urging the latter to take corrective measures.
He added, “Additional costs will be incurred on corrective actions. The poor execution of work contract will give rise to the disputes with the contractor…The additional costs incurred due to taking of corrective actions and arbitration award may be borne by the guilty officers, and not out of the public purse. The PWD (B&R) may be directed to give a certificate of structural stability of the building at the time of its handover on completion”.
The site inspection report of Aryabhatta Vigyan Kendra from the director, NSC addressed to Chief Engineer (Buildings) in January this year had highlighted serious observations with respect to structural works, expansion joint, casting of lift lobby slab with construction of supporting brick wall and removal of shuttering before specified time. Overall quality of construction and workmanship was stated to be “much below par”.
Two of the NSC’s officers had inspected the site in December 2021. The progress of work was also found “far from satisfactory”. “Marked deviations” were noticed in the “column reinforcement and placement of reinforcement” as compared to the approved structural drawings vetted by NIT, Kurukshetra. The officers also found “shortcomings in the quality of construction and non-adherence of standard procedures” in the construction.
Earlier, in November 2021 too the team of NSC had highlighted similar structural discrepancies to Haryana government.
“It appears there is no serious on-site technical supervision at every stage of the work on part of the PWD, which has given the leverage to the contractor for taking things lightly and leaving things in the hands of sub-contractors and labourers,” the NSC wrote to Haryana government.
The inspection report suggested to re-do various aspects of the building. “The reinforcement provided in the column in ground floor level was not found in accordance with the structural drawings…Most of the columns were found under-reinforced at ground floor and first floor level. The authorities of PWD were asked to dismantle all such columns and re-do the same after necessary alterations,” it mentioned.
Highlighting other discrepancies, it added, “in several places, it was found that lap length of column reinforcement left above slab level is insufficient to accommodate the requirement of minimum lap length as prescribed. Dowels left for beams in some places were not found in accordance with the structural drawing. Placement of stirrups in beams was not found in order. In one of the beam requisite sitrrups were found missing in the shear zone of the beam. Stirrups are not even tied with main bars properly in most of the places. Tie bar/ stirrups of column reinforcement is still not found to be in order as directed by the structure consultant during his last visit. In some of the columns the lap length was not found staggered as advised. The cover to vertical reinforcement of column is found abnormally irregular despite repeated instructions given in the past. In some places the cover is found as high as 100 mm on one side and practically no cover on the other side of the column”.
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