CPWD to monitor projects, works through web-based software

To bring in more transparency and expedite implementation of projects, government construction agency CPWD will monitor utilisation of funds and progress of projects on a real-time basis through a web-based system, a senior official said.

The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) executes around 15,000 projects and works, involving payments of Rs 15,000- 20,000 crore, every year through its 400 field offices, including those in remote and hilly areas and north-eastern parts of the country.

The CPWD, which functions under the Housing and Urban Affairs (HUA) Ministry, has launched a web-based system, e-MB (electronic measurement book), to monitor both financial progress or utilisation of funds and the physical progress of projects, Chief Controller of Accounts at the ministry, Shyam S Dubey, said.

"This will bring in transparency, accountability and also contain corruption. We would be able to check which projects are being executed on a satisfactory note and which all are lagging behind their schedule. Explanation will be sought for slower execution of projects from those responsible," Dubey told PTI.

The CPWD also plans to monitor the execution of projects through geo-tagging. This will enable it to get real-time status of projects through images, he said.

The technique has proved to be a success in the housing projects of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). The DDA had used it to monitor its projects on a pilot basis.

Dubey said the e-MB was launched by the HUA minister recently.

Last year, the CPWD had undergone a major digital transformation enabling payments worth crores of rupees per year electronically through networking all its 400 field offices across the country through a special integrated web based system 'Public Financial Management System (PFMS)'.