Why India is unable to build Quality Public Infrastructure

[andhra_jp]

We have brand new airports whose roofs leak or collapse at the first heavy downpour. Gleaming expressways which develop yawning sinkholes within weeks – sometimes days – of being inaugurated. We have bridges which collapse within months, flyovers which give way even while under construction. A tunnel collapse at an under-construction dam traps dozens of workers, who eventually are rescued by rathole miners digging with their hands. The list is endless.

There are three reasons why India, despite all the best intentions, and despite having all the skills and resources required, is unable to create quality public infrastructure. These reasons are systemic and deeply entrenched. And unless these issues are addressed, we will witness endless repetitions of history.

The first is the procurement process. Although the Central government has recently amended the General Finance Rules which govern public procurement, the overwhelming majority of government procurement is driven by the L1 – lowest bidder – approach, where cost is the primary driver. This drives down costs to unrealistic levels – but only at the start. So, for example, a Rs 100 crore project, meant to be finished in 12 months, is tendered at Rs 80 crore because of the bidding process. But pressure on costs leads to cutting of corners by the contractor leading to either sub-par quality or worse, both poor quality and lengthy delays. In the end, the Rs 80 crore becomes Rs 250 crore – but everybody has forgotten what happened at the start.

Then there is graft. If graft intervenes at every stage of a project – from the initial tendering to final payment – then there is going to be the inevitable compromise on quality. That too, in cases where the contractor is actually qualified to do the job. But if the skim is big enough, an unqualified bidder can get the job, making the problem worse.

And finally, there is the pervasive culture of non-accountability.  Like summer fireflies, infrastructure-related disasters occupy media attention only for a brief while, During that period, an earnest game of “shift the blame” is played. Once public attention shifts, all is forgotten and forgiven. Nobody is truly held accountable. Officials get transferred at best. Ministers only get into trouble if they lose power. Contractors get “blacklisted” but they simply float a different entity and are back in action. The only real victims are those who get injured or die or lose their livelihoods. And the biggest losers are the taxpayers, whose money goes down the drain.

[Android_Halwa]

100% perfection kavalante daniki mundu isonti enni failures nundi nerchukuntaru…apude kada quakity ante endo telsedi…its getting better, it will get better…compare decade over decade and you will see the result

[saikiran347]

It’s frustrating to see these issues persist. A lot of it boils down to the “lowest bidder” mentality, which often means corners are cut to meet budgets. Corruption just makes it worse, with unqualified contractors winning bids and then delivering shoddy work. And when things go wrong, nobody’s really held accountable—officials get moved around, and blacklisted contractors just rebrand. Until we address these systemic problems, it’s hard to see things improving.

[Konebhar6]

14 hours ago, andhra_jp said:

We have brand new airports whose roofs leak or collapse at the first heavy downpour. Gleaming expressways which develop yawning sinkholes within weeks – sometimes days – of being inaugurated. We have bridges which collapse within months, flyovers which give way even while under construction. A tunnel collapse at an under-construction dam traps dozens of workers, who eventually are rescued by rathole miners digging with their hands. The list is endless.

There are three reasons why India, despite all the best intentions, and despite having all the skills and resources required, is unable to create quality public infrastructure. These reasons are systemic and deeply entrenched. And unless these issues are addressed, we will witness endless repetitions of history.

The first is the procurement process. Although the Central government has recently amended the General Finance Rules which govern public procurement, the overwhelming majority of government procurement is driven by the L1 – lowest bidder – approach, where cost is the primary driver. This drives down costs to unrealistic levels – but only at the start. So, for example, a Rs 100 crore project, meant to be finished in 12 months, is tendered at Rs 80 crore because of the bidding process. But pressure on costs leads to cutting of corners by the contractor leading to either sub-par quality or worse, both poor quality and lengthy delays. In the end, the Rs 80 crore becomes Rs 250 crore – but everybody has forgotten what happened at the start.

Then there is graft. If graft intervenes at every stage of a project – from the initial tendering to final payment – then there is going to be the inevitable compromise on quality. That too, in cases where the contractor is actually qualified to do the job. But if the skim is big enough, an unqualified bidder can get the job, making the problem worse.

And finally, there is the pervasive culture of non-accountability.  Like summer fireflies, infrastructure-related disasters occupy media attention only for a brief while, During that period, an earnest game of “shift the blame” is played. Once public attention shifts, all is forgotten and forgiven. Nobody is truly held accountable. Officials get transferred at best. Ministers only get into trouble if they lose power. Contractors get “blacklisted” but they simply float a different entity and are back in action. The only real victims are those who get injured or die or lose their livelihoods. And the biggest losers are the taxpayers, whose money goes down the drain.

Simple - Corruption. Bidders have to use sub-quality products so that they can make profit and also payoff all the middlemen, politicians. Only a low % of actual allocated goes to the project.

[lollilolli2020]

2 hours ago, saikiran347 said:

It’s frustrating to see these issues persist. A lot of it boils down to the “lowest bidder” mentality, which often means corners are cut to meet budgets. Corruption just makes it worse, with unqualified contractors winning bids and then delivering shoddy work. And when things go wrong, nobody’s really held accountable—officials get moved around, and blacklisted contractors just rebrand. Until we address these systemic problems, it’s hard to see things improving.

entha lowest bidder ayina most of the projects over run the budgets mired by delays. 

 

[futureofandhra]

siggundali administrations ki irrespective of parties

em bathukulu ra 

engineering n safety ki zero value

spirituality n leftist ki matram value

 

[Pavanonline]

53 minutes ago, Konebhar6 said:

Simple - Corruption. Bidders have to use sub-quality products so that they can make profit and also payoff all the middlemen, politicians. Only a low % of actual allocated goes to the project.

I also don't think we really have the know how part, we don't have any R&D for building quality infra. heavy dams or building new things we always depend on foreign expertise.