Architects Furious, Government Agency Fails To Address Concerns

This is further to the news titled 5 Million Deposit To Bid For Government Project Of National Importance In India! that has been published previously.

The Central Public Works Department issued in its Corrigendum No. 2 related to “Notice Inviting Bids from National International Design and Planning Firms for Consultancy Services for comprehensive Architectural and Engineering Planning for the Development Redevelopment of Parliament Building Common Central Secretariat and Central Vista at New Delhi”, a pre-bid meeting in the Conference Hall O/o ADG (PRD), CPWD, Sewa Bhawan, R.K. Puram, New Delhi.

The meeting was scheduled for the 12th of September, 2019, at 5:00 pm in the venue stated above. Architects from the NCR and across the country representing leading firms attended the meeting and discussed the issue directly with Harnam Singh, Chief Engineer, CPWD, who chaired the session.

Questions about the nature of the plans mostly went unanswered. “To not have a proper brief and call for a pre-bid is infructuous. The criteria laid out keeps more people out,” said Ar. Shamit Manchanda, Chairman, IIA, Northern Chapter.

Harnam Singh defended the tender, saying, “We have given much stricter criteria in the past for smaller projects. Every query can’t be replied to; don’t expect instantaneous answers.”

This comes at a time when the entire architecture fraternity of the nation is voicing its dissent on the insanely high amount of 5 million Indian Rupees as an Earnest Money Deposit and on the 20 Crores INR annual turnover requirement.

While it is pretty clear that most Indian firms won’t be able to participate owing to reasons cited above, the path ahead is still unclear. There is visible tension in the fraternity regarding this.

Concerns over the eerie silence maintained by the pioneering institute of conservation architecture in India, INTACH on this blatant attack on the most coveted heritage precinct of the country- Lutyens Delhi has also been raised. Mr. A. G. K. Menon’s expert observations have been posted as a facebook post on INTACH Delhi Chapter’s facebook handle, however, whether a personal statement can be considered to be an official statement remains to debate.

A new interview of Mr. Hardeep Singh Puri done by The Indian Express has been published on 23rd September, ’19. “No one in their right mind will try to dismantle these buildings and no one said we are going to take apart the Parliament, it is heritage.”, Says Mr. Puri. He has also laid emphasis on the fact that the work will be awarded to an Indian agency. You can read the interview here. In the face of the confusion, this clarifies the situation to some extent. Nothing has been, however, said or done about the tender bid submission, and the 25 lakh EMD deposit yet.

In a story by Ar. Anuj Srivastava, Professor, School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi,  published by The Statesman on 23rd September, ’19, Srivastava says, “A makeover was long in the offering, but matters seem to have been brought to a head if the statement by various govt. functionaries are to be given credence.”

A proper design brief for such projects needs to be prepared by an expert panel of professionals from multiple domains. From similar past experiences, it is of benefit to humanity if politics and politicians are kept at a safe distance from such panels, primarily owing to the lack of expertise that politicians in India have constantly displayed for long!

On 25th September 2019, the Northern Chapter of Indian Institute of Architects, in an official press meeting published an official letter on the issue, stating the various causes for concerns. Read the letter below.

In light of the current incidents, an old CPWD Circular dated 16th December 2015 has surfaced on the Social Media asking its officers to completely disregard the Architects Act and COA as it is “against the interest of the government”. The circular is approved by the Director-General of the CPWD.

It is of importance to note here that the Council of Architecture (COA), India has been constituted by the Government of India under the provisions of the Architects Act, 1972, enacted by the Parliament of India, which came into force on 1st September 1972. A Central Government body issuing circulars against another Govt.entity as attached above only displays an extremely unprofessional attitude on part of the government, something that is absolutely unbecoming of the status of the CPWD.

Amidst this turmoil, the architecture fraternity is in considerable angst and has called for stricter actions by the COA and to display some political muscle-flexing if necessary in order to save the profession and the professionals from this unjust sidelining.

Architects nationwide have condemned the un-prepared briefs, unfairly high EMD amounts and such unprofessional, dominating behavior by the CPWD, GoI, India. This only hampers the smooth functioning of the industry and goes on to show the truth of the sad state of the profession in the country.

Update: As of 16th September 2019, the EMD amount has been reduced to 25 lakhs, half of the initial 50. However, this is hardly any reason for relief as 25 lakhs too, is an unbearable amount, and it still is in direct violation with the norms on the basis of which, an architect is to be selected for public projects. The deadline has also been deferred to 30th September from the initially slated 23rd September.

Further reporting will be done as and when new data surfaces and events unfold.

Written by Shubhayan M for World Architecture Community with inputs from Indian Express and The Statesman.

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