Games work under inspection, PWD plans to reward engineers

Slammed for delaying work on the Common wealth Games projects there is an ongoing audit of their work engineers and officials who worked on Games 2010 may finally have a reason to cheer.The Public Works Department is preparing a Cabinet note to offer a cash reward, most likely a month’s salary, to its engineers and officials for working efficiently and helping the city successfully pull off the sporting show, said sources. “We have decided to reward them. To do that, a note detailing the proposal is being prepared. We hope to put it up for the state Cabinet’s approval soon,” said a top official.

Facing major work delays just two months before the October Games, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had dangled a carrot in July, promising cash rewards for timely completion of projects. “Engineers will be rewarded suitably, preferably with one month salary, after the successful completion of the Commonwealth Games,” she had said then.The reward proposal was taken up after a government probe into the collapse of a foot over bridge near the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium virtually handed a clean chit to PWD engineers who were supervising the work, said an official.

The move also follows complaints by engineers that the investigation into the Games works has stolen their moment of glory and if faults were being identified, then performers should be rewarded.In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last month, the union of Central Engineering Services said unlike many other government servants, engineers worked up to 16 hours a day, even skipping weekly offs.“We, the engineering fraternity, were quite hopeful that while punishing the corrupt, you will also appoint a committee to identify and recognise the best performers who worked tirelessly,” the letter stated.