Delhi govt's law dept to hire consultant for construction of flats for judicial officers in Dwarka

New Delhi, Aug 21 (PTI) Delhi government's law department will supervise the construction of judicial officers' housing complex in West Delhi's Dwarka area after lapses were detected in the work done earlier by the PWD, officials said on Thursday.

According to an official document, the department has floated a tender to appoint a project management consultant (PMC) for the construction of the housing complex.

The PMC will provide consultancy on all engineering works, including architectural, structural, mechanical-electrical-plumbing services, as well as allied work. The PMC will, in turn, hire an architectural consultant firm that will provide consultancy services in project conceptualisation.

The residential complex is to be built at a cost of Rs 171 crore on a 10,000 square metre plot allotted by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in Dwarka sub-city.

The expenditure finance committee of the Delhi government, headed by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, in May, had directed that the law department may explore the feasibility of giving the work to any agency other than PWD, keeping in view the "lapses" observed on previous occasions.

The Public Works Department (PWD), in May this year, debarred the National Council for Cement and Building Material, a Central government agency, and a private contractor, holding both responsible for poor construction work on the residential complex during 2016-17.

An internal enquiry was also ordered by the PWD minister, Parvesh Verma, against nine officials of his department supervising the project work.

Cracks in plaster and structural issues like corrosion of seams and falling off concrete were reported within two years of the construction of the project. In December last year, the PWD demolished the judicial quarters.

The residential complex for judges and judicial staff with 70 quarters in six towers was surveyed in 2023 before possession was handed over. However, it was found structurally unfit even before it could be inhabited, and PWD decided to demolish and rebuild it. PTI VIT VIT NSD NSD NSD