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Collapse of 14 bridges in Bihar showcases poor state of public infrastructure in the country.
- Also, recently, several people died in different part country due to collapse of public infrastructure. E.g. Canopy collapse incident at Delhi Airport.
Factors contributing to Poor State of Public Infrastructure
- L1 method of contract bidding: Lowest bidder gets project, ignoring quality or expertise of construction and other parameters. E.g. Collapse of Morbi dam suspension bridge
- Administrative inefficiency: Usage of sub-standard materials, failure to follow design protocols, poor quality control, and inadequate supervision due to rampant corruption.
- Lack of adequate funding: There is a requirement of 7-8% of GDP per annum and actual infrastructure investment is only 4.6% per annum (CRISIL).
- Poor Safety Audit: It has been noticed that infrastructure project declared safe after safety audits have collapsed after some time.
- Other:
- Widening gap between the demand and supply of infrastructure.
- Geographical reasons such as floods due to heavy rainfall.
Measures Required
- There is a need to benchmark capacity and utilisation of infrastructure services both in terms of physical quantity and quality.
- Mandatory implementation of the Quality cum Cost Based Selection (QCBS) for awarding contracts.
- Conducting Safety Audits on a regular basis by independent Auditors.
Key Initiatives taken by Government to Promote Public Infrastructure
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