Councillors question need for project management consultants

CHENNAI: A debate over the role of project management consultants (PMCs) in GCC projects turned contentious at the meeting, with councillors questioning the need to spend Corporation funds on consultants when the civic body has its own engineering staff.

“PMC personnel are being used for surveys and monitoring even for routine road and footpath works. Why can’t the Corporation engineers handle them?” asked Councillor C Velu.

Citing works in three streets in his ward, Velu claimed that the roads had deteriorated soon after they were laid and since then had not been relaid. “If the Corporation has capable engineers, why should money be spent on PMCs? Retired Corporation chief engineers can be engaged on contract to oversee works, he stated.”

Other members, including the Deputy Mayor M Magesh Kumaar also questioned the functioning and quality of PMCs, asking whether the problem was with the consultants or with the way their reports were being handled by Corporation officials. Responding to the councillors queries, Corporation Commissioner GS Sameeran explained that the PMC system was introduced when Gagandeep Singh Bedi was head of GCC, primarily to support major storm water drain projects and address shortages in the Corporation’s engineering manpower.

“PMCs were also a mandatory requirement under agreements for projects funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Germany’s KfW. Removing them from such projects would therefore not be possible without affecting the funding arrangements,” he said.

The Commissioner also pointed to the sharp increase in its capital works, from around Rs 800 crore earlier to as much as Rs 3,500 crore in the previous year, saying PMCs were brought in partly to support project implementation and monitor key performance indicators.

Councillors said that they were not seeking the removal of PMCs from projects where they were contractually required by funding agencies. They demanded that PMCs should be avoided for Corporation-funded capital works, particularly smaller projects, where the civic body’s own engineers could undertake supervision and quality checks.