Odisha government will engage independent engineers and experts to inspect road, bridge and building projects, ensuring quality and transparency in public works
OdishaPlus Bureau
The Odisha government has opted to engage independent quality monitors to inspect road, bridge, and building projects, aiming to ensure quality and mitigate irregularities in public works.
The Rural Development (RD) department will assign experienced engineers, experts, and qualified retired engineers as quality monitors for the second-tier quality monitoring system. This department is responsible for overseeing projects related to poverty alleviation, livelihood, infrastructure (including roads, water, and housing), and social welfare (health and education) in rural areas, in addition to implementing various central schemes and fostering self-employment.
In the 2025-26 budget, the state government has allocated a budgetary provision of `39,221 crore for rural development, with a significant portion of the funds aimed at creating infrastructure, enhancing rural housing, and ensuring the availability of safe drinking water.
The quality monitors will independently assess whether the quality of road, bridge, and building works meets the established standards and whether the quality management systems within the rural works organization are operating effectively, according to sources.
The department has developed a set of guidelines for the empanelment of quality monitors, who are required to hold a graduate degree in civil engineering from a recognized university or to have retired from a position not lower than that of executive engineer or its equivalent from state or central government departments, public sector undertakings, or their subordinate offices.
Retired or currently serving faculty members from government engineering colleges, IITs, NITs, and government research institutions who have experience or have provided consultancy in the areas of road construction, bridge design, supervision, or consultancy are also qualified to act as quality monitors.
The state government has established a comprehensive code of conduct to promote ethical behavior during second-tier inspections of projects financed by the state, the Centre, and other organizations. The quality monitors are anticipated to perform independent evaluations of the work carried out under various schemes.
An official from the RD department stated that the second-tier mechanism aims to offer guidance and support to the implementation framework and field engineers, in addition to identifying faults. “The quality monitors will also aid the executing agencies in maintaining quality through regular inspections at specified stages of construction,” he remarked.