CHAPTER XI
THE EXECUTION OF WORKS
 

1101. Commencement of Works--An order to prepare an estimate for a work is no authority for the execution of that work. The commencement of a work or the incurrence of any liability thereon should, as a rule be authorised by the competent authority by a written order sanctioning the detailed estimate therefor and allotting the requisite funds. In rare cases where verbal orders have to be acted upon, the officer complying with the verbal orders should solicit written confirmation of such orders within a reasonable time. Unless it can be shown that the complying officer has conformed to this rule, the responsibility for the expenditure incurred will rest with him.

1102. The ordinary rule is that no work may be commenced and no liability or expenditure incurred on a work until a detailed estimate for it has been sanctioned and an allotment of the requisite funds made by competent authority. This rule pertaining to preparation of estimates does not apply in the following cases :-

• (i) For the construction or purchase of new work or asset under the category of new minor works if estimated to cost up to Rs.50,000/- ;

• (ii) For renewals and replacement of existing works and assets chargeable to Open Line Works Revenue as a new minor work if estimated to cost up to Rs.50,000/- ;

• (iii) For renewals and replacements of assets charged to Development Fund and Depreciation Reserve Fund if estimated to cost upto Rs.50,000/- ;

• (iv) For renewals and replacements of assets charged to Revenue if estimated to cost up to Rs.2 lakhs ; and

• (v) For repairs and reconditioning of existing assets if estimated to cost up to Rs.1 lakh, (cf, para 701).

(Authority : Railway Board's file No. 2001/CE.I/CT/17(Pt) dated 24.03.2003)

1103. Work started on Urgency Certificate.-In addition to the exception mentioned in the preceding paragraph the following are the only classes of work on which expenditure or liability may be incurred prior to the receipt of sanction of the authority competent to sanction the estimates under the ordinary rules :--

(i) Works, which are considered to be urgently necessary to safeguard life or property or to repair damage to the line caused by flood, accident or other unforeseen contingency, so as to restore or maintain through communication.

(ii) deleted.

Note : Where applicable the instructions in paragraph 1260 should be observed.

1104. As regards class (i) in the para above, the Divisional Engineer may authorize the commencement of the work, but should at once submit, through usual channel, a report to the authority competent to give administrative approval to the work and to allot the required funds. This report which may be called an "Urgency Certificate" or "Urgency Report" (Form E 1104) should contain (i) a description of the work, (ii) the date of its commencement, (iii) the circumstances which bring the work within this category, (iv) the maximum probable cost of the work with an enclosure containing an abstract of calculations and (v) the date by which a detailed estimate of cost will be submitted. The Divisional Engineer should at the same time send a copy of this report (Form E. 1104) to the Accounts Officer.

Form No. 1104

..................................................RAILWAY

URGENCY CERTIFICATE

Department........................................Division........................................Station........................................

1. Description of work.....................................................................................................................

2. Circumstances which warrant the urgency.................................................................................

3. Maximum probable cost.............................................................................................................

4. Date of commencement of work.................................................................................................

5. Probable date of submission of detailed estimate......................................................................

6. Provision of Funds......................................................................................................................

No...............................................Station..........................................Date..........................................

Forwarded to the Divisional Railway Manager/Chief Engineer/General Manager for sanction.

(Through the Divisional Accounts Officer/Dy. FA & CAO).

Station............................................ Signature.............................................

Date................................................ Designation.........................................

SANCTIONED

Station.............................................. Signature.............................................

Date................................................... Designation........................................

Copy to.--The Divisional Accounts Officer/FA & CAO for information.

Station............................................... Signature............................................

Date.................................................... Designation.........................................

1105. In according administrative approval or sanction and in allotting funds, if required, the competent authority will give such instructions as he considers necessary regarding the execution of the work to executive officers subordinate to him and fix a date by which the detailed estimate for the work should be prepared and got sanctioned. He will at the same time furnish a copy of his sanction and instructions to the Accounts Officer.

1106. The detailed estimate of the work should be prepared and submitted to the Accounts Officer for verification well in advance of the date fixed under the preceding paragraph. Should the detailed estimate not be received by the specified date or should the sanction of competent authority not be received within one month of the date, the Accounts Officer will, in the absence of a satisfactory explanation of the cause of the delay, make a full report to the General Manager, who should in cases where the cost of the work is likely to exceed his powers of sanction, at once inform the Railway Board of the reasons for the delay.

1107. As regards works falling under class (ii) of paragraph 1103 ante, if the cost of the work is not likely to exceed his own powers of sanction and if he is able to allot the necessary funds, the General Manager may authorize the commencement of work prior to the preparation of estimates. When the General Manager accords sanction to the commencement of a work in such circumstances, he should, in communicating his sanction to the Accounts Officer supply to that officer the information required under paragraph 1104 above. If the cost is likely to exceed General Manager's powers of sanction or if the General Manager is unable to allot the necessary funds, the work should not be commenced without the consent of the Railway Board. The General Manager when applying to the Railway Board for sanction to commence a work in such circumstances, should supply all the information required under paragraph 1104 and furnish a copy to the Accounts Officer. In either case, the procedure laid down in paragraphs 1105 and 1106 will apply mutatis mutandis.

1108. Expedition in Executing Works.-All works should be carried on as rapidly as is possible, due regard being had to the extent of funds allotted and to soundness of execution. All interruptions to large works in progress should be immediately reported to the Head of the Railway Administration, the causes and probable duration of such interruptions being duly explained.

1109. Material Modifications.-No material modification in a work or scheme as sanctioned, should be permitted or undertaken without the prior approval of the authority who sanctioned the estimate. In the case of estimates sanctioned by the Railway Board or higher authority, instances of what will be considered to be a material modifications of a sanctioned project or work are given in paragraph 1110 below.

1110. The following may be taken as material modifications on lines under construction and open line works estimated to cost rupees one crore and over.

• (a) Any change in the alignment likely to affect the facilities offered to the public in the neighbourhood or likely to increase or decrease the length of the line by over one kilometre.

• (b) Introduction of any new station or omission of any station.

• (c) Any alteration in the type or number of engines or vehicles provided in an estimate for rolling-stock.

• (d) A change in the layout of a yard affecting the general method of working or increasing or reducing the number of trains that can be dealt with.

• (e) Any departure from the standards of construction as prescribed in Chapter II or as accepted by the Railway Board in the Abstract Estimate or use of any second hand material, if it affects the speed of trains or the number of trains to be dealt with than contemplated originally.

• (f) The introduction or omission of any work or facility involving a sum of Rs.5 lakhs and over.

• (g) Any modification of a sub-work provided for in the estimate of a sanctioned work involving an additional outlay on that sub-work of more than Rs.5 lakhs.

• (h) The introduction of the new sub-work not provided for in the estimate of a sanctioned work involving an outlay of more than Rs.5 lakhs.

• (i) Any alteration in the standards of interlocking.

1111. With a view to ensure effective control over the execution of works within the powers of sanction of the General Manager, it will be open to him to expand the scope of the term "material modification" as defined in the preceding paragraphs and to prescribe what other instances will be regarded as material modifications by him.

1112. Any modification other than a "material modification" in the scheme or project sanctioned by the Railway Board or a higher authority may be sanctioned by the General Manager or any lower authority, provided that the amount of additional expenditure, if any, necessitated by such modification, does not cause an excess beyond his powers of sanction.

1113. Sanctions to Material Modifications.--If the introduction of a material modification becomes necessary in a project sanctioned by the Railway Board before the work is actually commenced, an amended abstract estimate should be prepared for the project and submitted for the approval of the Railway Board. When the introduction of a material modification in a project as sanctioned by the Railway Board or higher authority becomes necessary during the progress of the work, a revised abstract estimate should be submitted to the Railway Board, even when no excess in the amount of the sanctioned estimate is likely to result. No liability should be incurred on the modification, nor, if a saving is likely to be affected by its introduction, should the saving be utilised for any other purpose, until the proposed modification has received the approval of the Railway Board.

Note.--No material modification can be sanctioned by the General Manager, if as a result thereof, an excess over sanctioned estimate occurs beyond the sanctioning powers of the General Manager.

1114. Minor Modifications.-Executive Engineers need not ordinarily refer to higher authority for orders proposals for the introduction of any modification, which is necessitated by purely engineering considerations and which involve an outlay of less than Rs.10,000 provided the financial powers of the authority who sanctioned the estimate are not exceeded thereby.

1115. Agencies for Executing Works.-Works of construction, repair or maintenance may be carried out through the agency of either :-

• (i) departmental labour, or

• (ii) contracts, or

• (iii) other departments and public bodies such as municipalities, port trusts, etc., or

• (iv) other Railway Administrations.

according as the authority sanctioning the works may decide having regard to economy and expediency. The employment of both contractors and departmental labour at the same time and for the same work should, as far as practicable, be avoided.

1116. In the first case, viz., the execution of works by departmental labour, the procedure laid down in paragraphs 1119 to 1121 should be followed. The rules relating to the execution of works through the agency of contractors have been set out in Chapter XII. The conditions governing the execution of works through the agency of other government departments and public bodies will be those laid down by such departments and public bodies (see also paragraph 1137 infra). As regards works entrusted to other railway administrations for execution, all expenditure incurred by such administrations in carrying out the works will be debited to the railway ordering the works, provided the amount involved exceeds Rs. 500.

1117. Responsibility of Executive Engineers.-The Executive Engineer in charge of the work is responsible for the proper execution of a work by whatever agency it may be carried out. He should, therefore, make inspections as frequently as necessary or possible, supply his assistants and subordinates with such detailed instructions as may, from time to time, be necessary and see to it the instructions are complied with.

1118. Planning of Works.-In planning and monitoring the progress of works, particularly large projects, it is desirable to make use of techniques of network analysis. Similarly, it is desirable to adopt "mass haul diagrams" while planning earthwork wherever possible.

1119. Entertainment of Temporary and Works Establishment.-On receiving orders, or being authorized by any competent person to commence any work, the Executive Engineer may, if it is decided to carry out the work departmentally, entertain under competent authority, the necessary temporary and works establishment within the amount sanctioned and subject to any general rules that the Head of the Railway Administration may see fit to lay down. When it is necessary to bring labourers and artificers from a distance, they may be allowed wages for the number of days occupied in the journey to and from the site of work, provided they join the work with proper despatch. At the discretion of the Executive Engineer, bona fide travelling expenses may also be allowed to them. The above charges should be borne by the estimate of the work. The private address, and thumb impression of each labourer temporarily recruited for a work carried out departmentally should be kept on record by the subordinate under whom he is employed, for facility of identification and as a safeguard against bogus claims.

1120. Temporary Establishment includes all such non-permanent establishment, no matter under what designations employed, as is entertained for the general purposes of a division or subdivision or for the purpose of the general supervision, as distinct from the actual execution of a work or works. Under this category will come such staff as draftsmen and clerks other than "Stores" and "Muster" clerks actually employed at the site of works.

1121.  Works Establishment includes such establishment as is employed upon the actual execution, as distinct from the general supervision, of a specific works or sub-works of a specific project or upon the subordinate supervision of departmental labour, stores and machinery in connection with such a work or sub-works. The entertainment of work-charged establishment is subject to the following conditions :--

• (1) The pay allowed to holders of work-charged posts should not, except with the sanction of the competent authority, exceed the rates prescribed for such posts.

• (2) They should be paid by the day or months, their employment ceasing with the cessation of the work.

• (3) The cost of works establishment excluding labour should be shown as separate sub-head of the estimates.

1122. Field Book of Subordinates.- (a) Every member or the Engineer and Upper Subordinates establishment will, in addition to the prescribed Measurement Book, keep a note-book (Form E.1122) in which will be entered daily any particulars with reference to the works in progress which may be call for remarks, such as the nature of soil in which foundations are about to be commenced, the quality of materials delivered at the site of a work, or of the workmanship in a building.

(b) Remarks may also be made in the note book regarding the qualifications of subordinates, artificer and other employed on the works, the satisfactory or unsatisfactory operations of contracts, and in fact anything relating to the works in progress which should be brought to the notice of superior authority either as being of general professional interest, or as requiring immediate notice or orders.

(c) The dates of all inspections, with a list of the works, and a memorandum of the accounts inspected, with details on various points considered worthy of remarks, should also be given and these notebooks should be considered as official records, to be produced, whenever required by superior authority. They should be neatly and systematically kept and indexed.

1123. Order Book.-For all important works an order book (Form E. 1123) should be opened and all instructions issued to the executive subordinate or the contractor, as the case may be should be duly entered therein with the replies opposite.

1124. Record of Important Structures.-A record should be kept of the nature and depth of the foundations of all important structures. For culverts and small buildings a note on the drawing will be sufficient; but for all major bridges, large buildings and generally all structures, the depth of the foundations of which exceeds 2 metres, plans and cross-sections, and if necessary, longitudinal sections should be prepared. These diagrams should show the nature and reduced levels of the strata passed through and reached and of all footing courses, plinth, etc., they should be filed in the Executive Engineer's or Divisional Office within one month after the masonry in the foundations has begun.

1125. General Instructions.-No religious edifice should be destroyed or injured in the execution of works without the full and free consent of the persons interested in it; nor without the concurrence of the principal civil or political authority on the spot, unless the orders of local government within whose jurisdiction the edifice stands, render such concurrence unnecessary. Officers employed on the construction and maintenance of railways should take all possible steps to prevent the destruction of ancient remains of archaeological interest.

1126. As military considerations of the highest importance may be involved in any change in through communication, all proposals for removal of bridges or ferries, should invariably be submitted for the consideration and orders of the Railway Board.

1127. Executive Engineers should as a rule, make their own arrangement for the supply of labour and materials without having recourse to the civil authorities.

1128. All unusual losses and all important accidents should on their occurrence be reported to the Chief Engineer.

1129. In the execution of works, every care should be taken that the safety and convenience of the public are duly attended to, and that all operations are carried on in such a manner as to interfere as little as possible with the traffic or ordinary pursuits of the people. Temporary roads and bridges should, when necessary; be provided; and the occupation of land, when practicable, be so timed as not to lead to the destruction of standing crops, Brick and lime kilns should not be erected so close to the inhabited part of any town or cantonment as to be a nuisance.

1130. Executive Engineers and other officers or subordinates incharge of works should furnish immediate information to the proper civil authorities on the occasion of every serious accident; and in case of death on the spot, they should if it is reasonably possible not allow the body to be removed till a police enquiry has been held. In the case of an accident resulting in injuries to or the death of a railway servant, the procedure prescribed in the Workmen's Compensation Act and the orders issued thereunder by the Railway Administration concerned, should be followed.

1131. The employment of female labourers on works in the neighbourhood of soldiers' barracks should be avoided as far as possible.

1132. Powder-magazines and all buildings which from their height or exposed situation, are likely to be struck by lightning should be provided with lightning conductors, which should be erected and periodically tested in accordance with the rules laid down in the Government of India Pamphlet "Code of Instructions for the Erection and Test of Lightning Conductors".

1133. Execution of "Deposit Works".-No deviation from the accepted plans and designs of works undertaken for other Government Departments and outsiders should be permitted except with the concurrence of the authorities who ordered the works.

1134. If in the course of execution of a deposit work, it becomes apparent that the expenditure thereon is likely to exceed the provision in the estimate accepted by the authority ordering the work, the Executive Engineer should arrange to get the acceptance of such authority for the additional estimated expenditure. He should also arrange for the deposit of additional money to cover the estimated extra expenditure, in cases where such deposit is necessary for the execution of works (cf. paragraph 735).

1135. In order to keep the head of the engineering department informed of the state of progress of works in each division, a progress report of all works in progress during the month in a division should be submitted by the beginning of the succeeding month to the Chief Engineer. The format in which such progress report should be submitted shall be decided by the Chief Engineer. For the purpose of this rule a work should be considered to be in progress from the date on which the detailed estimate therefor is sanctioned to the date on which it is completed.

1136. Excess over Estimates.-The sanction to an estimate constitutes authority for spending a specific amount on a particular work. Executive officers should not, therefore, incur expenditure or liability on a work in excess of the sanctioned estimate without the prior sanction of the competent authority. If in the course of execution of a work it becomes apparent that there is likely to be an excess over the sanctioned estimate of the work as a whole, Executive Engineers should take steps :--

(i) to restrict further expenditure on the work to the utmost extent possible until sanction to the excess is obtained; and

(ii) to prepare a revised estimate and submit it to the authority competent to sanction it. In case of estimates sanction to which is within the competence of the local authorities, it will rest with the sanctioning authority to decide in what detail the revised estimate should be prepared. In case, where there has been no great modification in the scope of the original estimate, an abstract dealing only with the items of work which have been materially affected with explanations therefor and bring out any changes in the allocation should suffice in lieu of the full detailed revised estimate. In cases, which require to be submitted to the Railway Board, where the excess is not due to any material modification in the sanctioned work, brief abstract estimate should be prepared showing the heads materially affected, the total increase under each head and the principal directions in which the cost has been exceeded owing to rise in prices or other causes.

Expenditure in excess of a sanctioned estimate should not ordinarily be left over regularization by post-facto sanctions. The orders of the competent authority should be obtained on the probable excess at the earliest possible stage before the additional expenditure is incurred. In most cases, where the excesses are due to an increase in prices over those entered in the original estimates, these probable excesses are at once discovered when tenders are received for the work; and in such cases, a revised abstract estimate should immediately be sent to sanctioning authority in order that authority may determine whether it is advisable to proceed with the work in view of the additional expenditure involved. In all other cases, the application must be made as soon as the probability of any excess is foreseen.

In cases, however, where the work is in an advanced stage and is likely to be completed before a revised estimate can be got out, the excess may, with the prior approval of the competent authority, be dealt with in the completion report of the work. The fact that a competent authority has permitted the regularization of excess over an estimate through the completion report should invariably be intimated to the Accounts Officer.

Notwithstanding the fact that the expenditure on a work has exceeded or is likely to exceed the sanctioned estimate therefor, the following payments may not be withheld :-

(a) Payments required to liquidate liabilities which have already been incurred at the date of reporting the excess (whether actual or anticipated) to the competent authority for sanction.

(b) Payments in respect of salaries, muster sheets, labour pay sheets or other pressing claims provided that a definite statement in writing is made by the General Manager, Chief Engineer, or Divisional Superintendent, as the case may be to the effect that sanction of the competent authority to excess has been applied for or will be applied for at the earliest possibility.

Note : For the purpose of this paragraph, excess over estimates should be determined with reference to the aggregate provision (excluding credits for released material) for the work or scheme as a whole and not with reference to the separate sub-estimates for sub-works constituting the works or scheme.

1137. Departmental Charges.-When work is undertaken by the Engineering Department of a railway for outside parties including other railways, government department, public bodies (e.g., Municipalities, Port Trust, etc.) and employees of the railway, departmental charges should be levied to cover the cost of tools and plant and of establishment supervision. The charges leviable will be 12¹/₂ percent on the total cost of the work (wages and materials) including the cost of land, except where a rate higher than 12¹/₂ percent is charged to governmental departments on a reciprocal basis. The charge will be levied once only on the total outlay on a work (cash and stores) and will not be in addition to a first charge of 12¹/₂ percent on the value of stores, vide paragraph 2329-S.

Notes :1. The above rules do not apply to works undertaken by engineering workshops to which the rules applicable to works undertaken in workshops of the Locomotive and Carriage and Wagon Department apply.

2. Railway Units of the Territorial Army.-The charges under the foregoing rules may be remitted in the case of works not exceeding Rs.500 in cost executed by the Engineering Department of a railway for Railway Units of the Territorial Army provided that no additional establishment is entertained for such work.

3. The above rules do not apply to works of road over bridges/road under bridges, taken up on Build Operate & Transfer (BOT) basis in replacement of existing manned Level Crossings.

(Authority: Board’s letter No. 98/CE-I/Misc./14(BRO) dt. 30.12.1998)

1138. Remission of Departmental Charges.-The General Manager may, at his discretion, waive wholly or partially the recovery of the departmental charges leviable under paragraph 1137 provided that

• (a) the railway gains some advantage, not necessarily financial, by such remission;

• (b) the reasons for the remission are recorded in each case and the remission is allowed with the concurrence of the Financial Adviser and Chief Accounts Officer; and

• (c) the non-incurrence of extra charges on account of tools and plant and establishment supervision does not in itself constitute sufficient justification for the remission.

1139. In case of assisted or private sidings, when a portion of the work is permitted to be executed by parties, partial remission of departmental charges may be allowed (refer to para 1828). General Managers can allow such remission upto Rupees ten lakhs and if the parties apply for further remission a reference should be made to the Railway Board unless the case falls within the purview of para 1138. 

When the survey and construction of a private siding is carried out through Consultant/Consulting firm/Consulting Engineer as approved by the Railway, charges leviable are as given in para 1829-E.

             (Authority Railway Board's letter No. 83/W.I/SP/12(Pt.) dated 22.3.93)

1140. Departmental Charges on Joint Works.-In connection with joint works at joint stations no additional charge for supervision for the purpose of assessing interest as a charge to the joint station account should be made to the capital cost of joint works at junction stations owned and worked by the Indian Government. The full application of this rule in the case of junctions at more than one point with a line not owned and worked by the Indian Government where the junction stations are owned severally by the Indian Government and other authorities (Companies, District Boards) is dependent on the Government and other authorities both adopting the same procedure. If the line not owned by the Indian Government levies such charges on joint works at junctions owned by them, the Indian Government line should include a similar charge in connection with joint works at junction owned by the Indian Government : See also 870 of Indian Railway Financial Code.

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