Non-performing contractors to be blacklisted: Priyank

Bengaluru: Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge on Friday directed executive engineers of the Rural Drinking Water Supply Department to blacklist contractors who have failed to complete rural drinking water supply projects within the stipulated time.

Chairing a high-level review meeting with district engineers at Vidhana Soudha, the minister issued stern instructions, saying the time had come to move away from what he described as a “culture of lethargy” and prioritise timely execution of projects for the benefit of rural communities.

Priyank also directed Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) to personally review progress for at least three days every month, specifically focusing on key departments under the Panchayat Raj system, including the Rural Drinking Water Supply and MGNREGA schemes.

“Issues must be resolved at the district level itself, without depending on escalation to the state headquarters,” he said in a statement released by his office.

Raising serious concern over the increasing number of complaints regarding roads not being restored after the completion of single-village and multi-village drinking water supply schemes, Kharge told engineers to treat road restoration as an integral part of the project and ensure immediate corrective action.

The minister also warned that in the awarding of future contracts, engineers must first assess the technical capacity of contractors — including the availability of machinery and manpower — to ensure that only reliable agencies are entrusted with critical works.

Addressing the issue of persistent project delays, Priyank pointed out that engineers often cite forest land issues or technical obstacles as reasons for missed deadlines.

He instructed that such hurdles must be anticipated at the project planning stage itself rather than cited later as excuses.