Can't finish flats before Games: Engineers

Published>Tue, Aug 03 10 05:38 PM

With only 61 days left for the Commonwealth Games to kick off, the Delhi Development Authority's (DDA) engineers have decided that "there is no way" they can finish work on the 2,000 flats in Vasant Kunj.

The flats were to be furnished by the Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) and converted into three-star accommodation for tourists, Games delegates and volunteers. ITDC was get the flats by March 2010.

It is now August, and the All DDA Engineers' Association (ADEA) has said they cannot finish the work in time. In a letter reportedly sent to the Union Minister of Urban Development, the Delhi Lieutenant-Governor and DDA vice-chairman, the ADEA has written, "DDA engineers working on Vasant Kunj Commonwealth Games flats held a meeting on July 29 and decided not to bow before the administrative pressure to finish the work within a month. By doing so, all engineering specification and code shall be ignored. It will take at least four to six months to complete the flats." The AEDA is an elected union comprising 2,100 engineers who work for the authority.

AEDA general secretary Param Yadav told Newsline, "A hundred engineers are working on the project now, and the consensus is that we cannot possibly finish the work by next month."

Asked why the engineers were raising this issue now, so close to the Games, he said, "We tried to raise the issue earlier. Our Chief Engineer P K Nanda brought it up with the authority, and he was shifted out from the project. The same thing happened to our engineering member A K Bajaj." While Bajaj confirmed that he was shifted from the project, he said his tenure was anyway ending on August 31.

Despite repeated attempts, the DDA refused to make an official statement on the issue. However, senior officials said they were confident the project would be completed on time. "It is a prestigious project, and we are entirely committed to its completion. At this stage, work will continue as planned," an official involved with the project said.

Asked whether the engineers would strive to complete work if the government provided some incentive, Yadav told Newsline: "Even if we are paid 10 months' salary, we will be unable to complete the work."

Source: Web Search