White paper on proposing a change in the supervision & implementation

standards of bridges & transport infrastructure & regulatory mechanism in

India: A vision of the world order

"Where mind is without fear

and the head is held high,
where knowledge is free.
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls,
Where words come out from the depth of truth,
where tireless striving stretches its arms toward perfection,
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost it's way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit,
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever widening thought and action
In to that heaven of freedom, my father,
LET MY COUNTRY AWAKE ― Rabindranath Tagore

Infrastructure deficit: Built to last or built too fast?

How to build infrastructure quickly and efficiently: Learn from the Chinese
How to build infrastructure with time and cost-overrun: Learn from the Indians

Dear Sir,

Infrastructure is the backbone of modernization, and bridges are a major element of

infrastructure. Consequently, bridge construction took off as modernization and industrialization
increased rapidly in 70's.

However, the modernization of India called for launching of National Highway Development
Program (NHDP) which was launched in 1998 with the objective of developing roads of
international standards which facilitate smooth flow of traffic. It envisages creation of roads with
enhanced safety features, better riding surface, grade separator and other salient features.
National Highways constitute only 2% of the total road length in the country but carry 40% of the
total traffic. NHDP is being implemented by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), an
organization under the aegis of Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways. With vast network of
deep & wide perennial rivers, cities situated on river banks & densely populated masses;
construction of bridge infrastructure is the need of the hour. But on the front of design &
durability, it can be gauged by the fact that bridges in India are designed to withstand 50 floods
whereas it is 150 in the developed countries.

In India, the aging period of bridges is 30 to 40 years. But there are prominent bridges
more than 100 years old and had been constructed during the British era.

As the bridges and the expressways they span keep rising, construction has become an end
unto itself. Fueled by government -backed loans and urged on by the big construction
companies and officials who profit from them, many of the projects are piling up debt and
breeding corruption while producing questionable transportation benefits.

As a developing nation, rapid development of transport infrastructure is happening in India like

some other developing countries. The eye -popping structures have slashed travel times in
some areas, made business easier and generated a sizable slice of the country’s economy,
laying a foundation, in theory at least, for decades of future growth.

But as an Engineer my concern is about development/ construction of robust & durable

transport infrastructures .The shortsightedness of development policies are gnawing at the
foundations of bridges in the country.

Selection of construction agencies is more of the client’s requirement but where its
implementation is concerned, where supervision & quality assurance is concerned, our role is
important and crucial one. There are innumerable shortcomings on supervision & quality
assurances fronts but one that relates to the selections & policy frameworks & which from core
of my heart I want that Authorities should act on it as follows:

One of the factors for poor inspection standards is the age of Supervision Engineer.
Maximum age limit for supervision & quality assurance Engineer (Independent Engineer
or Authority’s Engineer) is 65 years which is dangerously leading to lagging in
supervision & quality assurance of the project work.

Establishment & availability of staff at site/camp offices: For quick decision & real time
monitoring this must be done. All Team members’ effort will bring results. It is sheer wastage of
time & money in unnecessary documentation. What benefit it will bring to the project
documenting a thing which is already done?

Vivid pics of Supervision Consultant appointment: In the process of Quality & Cost Based
Selection ( QCBS)in 80:20 ratio for procurement of Supervision Consultant as per various
funding agencies requirement & government guidelines, there are various inherent
shortcomings which need to be eliminated to have Consultant of World class order who does
innovation ,R&D to make a mark in Value Addition.

The current method of selection of Supervision consultants is far from practicing due diligence in
true sense. CV's of key personnel are made (fabricated to some extent) by bidding consultants
matching with TOR (Term Of Reference) of Consultancy Contract Document best suited to win
the contracts. This is leading to deficiency in supervision work of project disastrously.
MoRTH (Ministry of Roads Transports & Highways) & NHAI (National Highways Authority of
India) has introduced "Infracon" website on their portal to upload these CV's & corresponding
documents to screen the accuracy & veracity of uploaded documents. Now, it is up to them
how much due diligence is exercised?

Interviews/interaction/verification in Client's HQ of key personnel in a group with Authorized

Signatory at final round has hardly any significance as Client personnel are not having capacity,
capability & time available to do the same as before this all gets managed by highest marks
obtained Consultant (L1) who was part of carrying out such exercises as said above.

The way forward: Hence, as remedial measures all CV's of L1 consultant must be
telephonically interviewed by an appropriate Consultant as third party followed by in person
interview of respective personnel by same consultant. Approval/Disapproval advice should be
given to the Client mandated for the same. Entire process should be a secret affair to avoid any
collusion whatsoever. For this, entire process should be in E-mode without any reference to the
project, consultancy contract & L1 consultant. This should be governing criteria in Request For
Qualification (RFQ) document.

This way our consultancy & supervision will be of world class. Such Personnel must have
considerable authorization regarding project monitoring & supervision i.e. progress & quality &
put their special comments regarding innovation, out of box thinking to an authority mandated
for the same linked though separate code & ID provided to the associated personnel.
Advantage made due to such Value Addition in progress & quality will be judged by appropriate
authority & will be rewarded through cash & certificates both to the Consultant & Personnel
beneficial for their next assignments.

The game of 28 day Concrete Compressive Strength: It also falls shortage in carrying out
due diligence & very purpose of the test in case of deviations in test results from Codal limits &
rectification thus needed in built structure is hardly done thus putting question mark on safety &
durability aspects of bridge structures.

For supervision & quality assurance work, it is required to have experience, expertise,
qualifications focus, passion, innovation, involvement, excellence, stamina, integrity, zeal &
enthusiasms etc. The supervision & inspection Engineer shall discharge its duties in a fair,
impartial and efficient manner, consistent with the highest standards of professional integrity
and Good Industry Practice.

In last 15 years, rapid infrastructure development has taken place & hence there is no dearth of
middle age (15 years+) Engineers possessing above experiences to be posted at project sites &
having career prospects to do innovation work as well.

Retired Govt. Engineers (between 60-65 years) by and large do not posses experience,
expertise, focus, passion, innovation, stamina, zeal & enthusiasms etc. which is renderings non
durable & inefficient transport/ bridge infrastructures. Hence they should not be recruited /
mobilized at project sites. Specialists/experts can be taken as advisors.

Facts, Causes and Effects: There is no integrity anywhere even after signing Integrity
Pact by Contractor, Client & Consultant. Substantial progress is made in project
management, including the development of standards, regulations and methods. Ministry &
Client has introduced multiple level consultants such as Design Consultant, Proof Consultant,
Safely Consultant, External Auditor, and Supervision Consultant. But what is happening that all
are sitting under one table & simply stamping is done. Apart from the flawed design,
compromise in quality of materials and even lapses on the implementing authority’s part is a
regular feature here.

Even highway professor/personnel are signing bridge design & drawing. Construction drawings
are different from AS-Built drawing. Specifications, codes, clauses, systems, procedures are
there in plenty. But it is this lack of integrity, expertise, professionalism, focus, passion,
innovation, involvement, excellence, strong willed etc. which has killed everything everywhere.
This MANAGING business has killed quality, durability factors of infrastructure (specifically
Transport Infrastructures) in the country. We are only after obtaining degrees for our stomach &
prestige. So who is to blame in particular & who will come forward to do the value addition?

In Bihar, on river Ganges alone some 6 nos. bridges are there & dozen bridges are coming up.
Almost dozen bridges are there on other rivers. Looking into the supervision & construction
standards, how much durability can be expected? Can we expect the durability of more than
150 years old Koilwar Bridge on Sone river or 117 years old Nehru Setu on Sone river in Dehri-
on - Sone. Bridges built by British are still sound & under operations & bridges built by us are
falling down & we are amending codes after codes.

A factor of safety for material, design, construction & other uncertainties is taken in the
construction sector from standard codes & specifications. Looking into the lack of integrity of
such degrees, how much factor of safety can be taken to deliver robust & sustainable
infrastructure in India?

Bridges built under BOT system are susceptible to durability as Owner (Concessionaire) was
under pressure to complete the project because of having less time got to execute the bridge
work as delay caused due to land acquisition & environmental issues as one cause. Another
cause is having same agency as Concessionaire & Contractor in most cases. Concessionaire
concern for bridge durability up to concession period only is also one cause.

India suffers from what a government committee in 2011 called a "massive infrastructure deficit
in the urban sector". Even if overpasses stand firm, airports sparkle and metro systems hum on
schedule, how long will they last? What is the life cycle of India's new urban infrastructure, and
what has been secretly compromised in construction and planning processes? Are India's
leaders and contractors "building to last"? Our roads, bridges and rail are outdated and need to
be fixed. Bihar is having maximum nos. of mega bridges. Can we expect that these
bridges will exist in year 2100 & afterwards?

Only turnover and number of projects running on loans have not much significance. Consultants
are increasingly being appointed on the basis of lowest fees. They are treated like contractors
and are required to pay earnest money. Do clients ever dare follow such an approach while
selecting a lawyer, a surgeon or a chartered accountant?

Paradigm shift in supervision, Monitoring & Implementation aspects of project: We have

through IBMS (Indian Bridge Management System) National Bridge Inventory which gives the
condition of bridges in India. National Bridge Inspection Standards (NBIS) just in line with
America which came into being on 1971 & enacted by legislation is needed in India at earliest.
Its implementation must be ensured by MoRTH or NHAI.

The”Jugaad” response to many infrastructure project implementation has led to catastrophic

failures. In response to flyover collapse in Kolkata, Varanasi & catastrophe at other places, a
highway act should be added, which should prompt to develop & establish National Bridge
Inspection Standards (NBIS) & National Bridge Inspector (NBI) for post
construction & National Bridge/Structure supervision standards (NBSS) during construction
( for supervision consultants). There should be National Bridge
Implementation Standards (for Owners/Client) which should be primarily aimed to see the
speed of the work to avoid time & cost overrun & directly posed to Public & Judicial scrutiny.
Creation of National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) & its superintendence over all
reports & findings should be made. We have Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) in case of
Railways whose sanctioning is mandatory for opening of any Railway Line or work. NTSB
should have same kind of authority.

Creation of Indian Bridge Congress (IBC) :Creation of Indian Bridge Congress (IBC) in line
with Indian Road Congress (IRC) for a separate codes to cater for bridge infrastructure i.e.
bridges, flyovers, viaducts & elevated expressways, etc. Developments made in this field
throughout the globe & codal reference made should be established in Indian context put to
specification for strict implementation.

Paradigm shift in Expression of Interest (EOI), Request For Qualification (RFQ) &
Contract Award/Letter Of Intent (LOI):

Performance Appraisal through Penalty & Bonus Clause to reduce time & cost overrun of
the project: Penalty & Bonus Clause in Running Account (RA) Bill only through holding or
rewarding some amount criteria from 1st bill will decide contractor's fate in the project. For
project obtaining/awarding Bonus point earned by company for the particular type of project
should be also main criteria, Public/CAG scrutiny for Liquidated Damage caused vetted by
Court order/ Penalty to organization/ officer for debarment must be there.

Private Sector Participation as client as per performance in BOT project should be encouraged
to lessen burden of Government for funding. Public sector as contractor like UPSBC with
performance & quality track record should also be encouraged. Project duration must be fixed
with 24 hrs (day & night shift) work cycle & correspondingly resources to be employed should be
the part of the Contract.

Allowing & formation of JV should be based on specialist, bonus obtained criteria & their
performance, performance & monitoring audit with Performance Monitoring Indicators specified
at each month by third party be linked with payment to all stakeholders each month & survival in
the project is based on rating/in job/retaining till 60% marks (minimum) of physical & financial
progress each month is achieved. A level called Country Level a benchmark established
through National Productivity Council must be met.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has made a pledge to improve India's decaying
urban infrastructure through foreign direct investment. The construction industry is the primary
beneficiary and - like in many countries - represents one of the most corrupt sectors. Calls for
more transparency in campaign contributions are loud and frequent. However, a better place
to start would be transparency in the bidding and contract awarding process, including
publication of information about not only contractors' qualifications but also their
government connections. This practice could expose conflicts of interest and significant
failures of accountability.

On toll gates, a board should be put up on every large asset, like bridges, flyovers, underpasses
etc, mentioning the agency that has constructed the bridge, its age, the contractor's name and
which agency is in-charge of its maintenance. Such a board must have contact address and
phone numbers of the agency concerned.

India suffers from what a government committee in 2011 called a "massive infrastructure deficit
in the urban sector". Even if overpasses stand firm, airports sparkle and metro systems hum on
schedule, how long will they last? What is the life cycle of India's new urban infrastructure, and
what has been secretly compromised in construction and planning processes? Are India's
leaders and contractors "building to last"?

Our roads, bridges and rail are outdated and need to be fixed. Bihar is having maximum nos. of
mega bridges. Can we expect that these bridges will exist in year 2100 & afterwards?

Ripple effects of Governance deficit: Performance and governance deficit of a system are
inversely proportional to each other. Its product is a constant. This means if one is increasing
the other is automatically decreasing. Decreasing performance means increasing governance
deficit. One example of this is that we are unable to build 5 Km Bridge in 15 years where as
China has successfully built 55/50Km bridge in 5 years. Is there any comparison?

Do we have any infrastructure initiative which can match with China's " One Belt One
Road " (OBOR) initiative? Let us not lose sight of the fact that we are way behind China.
Today we have the biggest mountain of debt in the history of the world and we can’t even afford
to repair what we already have.

Let us not lose sight of the fact that we are way behind China. Today we have the biggest
mountain of debt in the history of the world and we can’t even afford to repair what we already
have.

Is China the Supreme Leader in Bridges? While “world’s tallest” may be in dispute, there is
no dispute about who leads in the total number of tall bridges. Of the 101 tallest bridges listed
on Wikipedia, China has a whopping 66! Looking at the “longest” category as well, a similar
bridge-building propensity is apparent. Seventeen of the 20 longest bridges in the world are now
in China. India has only 1,300 km (1% of China) of expressways compared to 131,000 km in
China. While China boasts the world's largest high-speed rail network, there are none in India.
Most of its trains average less than 60 miles (100 km) per hour on colonial-era tracks that are
long overdue for an infrastructure overhaul.

Greater effectiveness of government initiatives: Enforcement & implementation in a

China way:
Most governments form policies with good intentions. Where things go horribly awry is at the
implementation stage. It is, therefore, the domain of implementation which needs technocrats
most desperately. In fact, India needs even more than competent ministers and wise advisers
are competent project managers.

Instead of miring the projects in the labyrinth of the India’s permanent bureaucracy, it ought to
be handed over to technocrats, rather than babus. These babus (bureaucrats) are known
for sitting on files, a tendency that came to be known as “policy paralysis” and was blamed for
growth of less than 5 percent .These babus can frame the policy for infrastructure projects, be
a catalyst for fast tracked construction of infrastructure projects, which were in planning for
decades, but leave the implementation to someone who has the qualities of a good
project manager.

The fact is that the Government of India performs best when it operates in "Mission
Mode" taking advantage of the quantum leaps we are seeing in technology. These
missions must be led by technocrats who know how to get things done having track
record as a doer. Hire them from the private sector or even from public sector
corporations if they have good records. Let this be a people's movement whose
(taxpayer’s) money is invested in infrastructure building. Getting the job done is clearly
the order of the day.

More vigorous governance and monitoring:

In order to facilitate effective governance of operations and maintenance, it is important that it is
possible to describe how different operations and maintenance initiatives lead to the desired
effects on the transport system, how initiatives can be prioritised and how improved and
developed feedback can be guaranteed with relevant economic assessments. Involvement of
proven professionals of Civil Society groups in the falling area of construction projects must be
sought & projects progress, quality works & persons involved should be displayed on regular
basis for effective third party inspection.

Creation of zones and infrastructure for busines: India must create flexible investment
zones, export processing zones, free trade zones, high tech zones, complete with tax
incentives, good infrastructure and quick approval of investment proposals.

To maximize Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) the new enterprise/ project must include other user
centered transport systems, business clusters ,trade centers to be developed simultaneously
after careful planning with a view of sustainability, feasibility & viability , life cycle costs,
budgetary provisions, investment & funding pattern/options taking help of young & innovative
talent and experts having capabilities & capacities as well. Not only this will create huge job
creation & participation of users/local people at project stages but will also reduce input cost,
inclusion of local culture , resources, filling knowledge, innovation & technologies required at
projects from knowledge centers & to knowledge centers. It should be distributed & diversified to
avoid growth & concentration of traffic through a few corridors & modes.

Idea is for implementing innovation driven development in the economic, political,

cultural, social and ecological fields in order to build a moderately prosperous society in all
respects as planned by maximum mobilization of local appropriate resources & talents. It will
also be helpful for Improving social security and social services to ensure equal access to basic
public service

There are six different performance areas common to design and construction: (a) cost
and schedule monitoring, (b) quality monitoring, (c) safety management, (d) public information
management, (e) environmental stewardship, and (f) traffic reliability during construction. Local
resource will be utilized for employment generation as well cultural & societal benefits.

Accelerated Innovation: India must find new ways to innovate that reduce lead times and
speed up problem solving. That is, reengineering research and development and innovation
processes to make new product development dramatically faster and less costly. The new
emphasis will be unlikely to generate stunning technological breakthroughs, but it will allow
Indian competitors to reduce the time it takes to bring innovative products and services to
mainstream markets. It also represents a different way of deploying Indian cost and volume
advantages in global competition.
Focus on getting the project right, not on attracting investment: India’s savings rate is
high, insurance companies and pension funds are eager to invest in infrastructure, international
investors and multilateral development banks are also ready to contribute. What India is missing
is well structured projects and transparency. Its high long-term sovereign rates are a hurdle.
Corruption is a major problem: it cannot be mitigated, it must be eliminated. Anything short of
that would be cheating the Indian people from the benefits of economic growth and
development.

Whether PM initiated multi-purpose and modal platform PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and
Timely Implementation) will help monitoring and reviewing important programs and projects of
Government of India as well as projects sponsored by various State government
agencies where PM also asked officials to monitor infra projects using drones to ensure the
completion of work within the deadlines or we need the radical reforms much like China
way?

Politics of Inauguration Stones (Genuine development vs Development for the sake of

propaganda): Maybe something to do with a need to get as many bridges inaugurated before
the 2019 general elections?

React after the incident: We want to shut the barn door after the horse has bolted. We are a
reactive nation without any foresight and contingency planning. We lack any concept of safety
audits of public spaces.

Finger pointing: No one has the courage of conviction to own moral responsibility. We as a
nation seem to lack a strong moral fibre.

Conclusion: Corruption is one of the root causes of the poor quality of roads and bridges in
India. The quality of the materials used is so sub-standard, that the roads need to be rebuilt
after every monsoon in most of the areas. One shudders when one thinks of the foundation of
the bridges which is not visible to the naked eye. Apart from the sub-standard quality of
construction material, the time taken to construct the network of bridges and roads is also way
beyond required. It is of urgent requirement for the government to take notice of the urgency of
the situation and take steps towards rectifying the same. At present the administration of the
national highways, state highways, and minor roads in the country are vested with different
authorities. If the administration is vested with one central authority then not only will it help in
expediting the construction of roads and bridges and refurbishment of the old ones, but the
quality will also improve as there would be no blame game with one administration accountable
and responsible for the output.

Need for the Engineers’ Bill to be enacted: The dwindling standards in engineering education
and ethics among engineers are leading to sub-standard products and public amenities. Unless
the engineers are made responsible, they will not be empowered to implement the standards.
Accountability is attached to responsibility. Hence, the Engineers’ Act must be introduced to
improve the commitment and responsibility of all the engineers, be it in govt. or in private. An
engineer in government service is also expected to deliver certain projects and there is no
compulsion on him to upgrade his knowledge and performance. An engineer’s act can minimize
all the losses in projects and industry production improving assurance in quality, safety and
economy. More than all the loss of life, due to poor quality infrastructure, built environment,
industrial production, etc., can be minimized. Road accidents, building collapses, construction
failures, bridge collapses, poor quality products, environmental pollution etc., cause many
unreported deaths.

We must construct, develop & build the infrastructure & thus the nation with “Make In
India” mantra but a robust & sustainable infrastructure.

Is India Building Bridges to Ruin?

Regards,

I. N .Mishra
Resident Engineer cum Bridge/ Structures specialist,
Mahatma Gandhi Setu, Patna (India)
Mobile: +91-9546033133
E Mail: indranath_mishra@yahoo.com

Quotes:

"The whole world is now observing India keenly. It is imperative that governance in India
becomes more efficient and responsive " - Narendra Modi, Prime Minister, India

"We shape our buildings and, afterwards, our buildings shape us"- Winston Churchill, Prime
Minister,UK

"American roads are not good because America is rich, but America is rich because American
roads are good" -US President John F Kennedy