CHAPTER VII WORKS Introductory

January 20, 2025

163. The term ‘works’ covers not only works of construction and repair of buildings, roads, irrigation projects, etc., but also the manufacture, supply, carriage and repair of tools and plant and other stores required in connection with works of construction and repair.

The rules in this chapter are applicable to departments in general and are supplemented for particular departments by the detailed rules and orders contained in the respective departmental manuals and codes and any other special orders applicable to them.

Classification of Works

ALLOTMENT OF WORKS TO DEPARTMENTS
Works allotted to the Public Works Department

164. Works are primarily classified into “original works” and “repairs and maintenance”.

Original works include all new construction, whether of entirely new works or of additions and alterations to existing works, reconstruction of entire structures necessitated by wear and tear or by damage due to some calamity and all repairs to newly purchased or previously abandoned buildings required to make them usable.

Repairs and maintenance include all the operations required from time to time to maintain existing properties in a satisfactory state and make good the damage due to wear and tear, when complete reconstruction is not necessary. Repairs are further classified as “ordinary repairs” and “special repairs”.

Ordinary repairs include the periodical repairs which are done regularly as a matter of routine and are usually of the same nature (e.g., painting or white-washing a building or spreading a new coating of metal on a road), and any occasional petty repairs from time to time, which may have to be carried out between the time fixed for the periodical repairs. Ordinary repairs to an irrigation work include all the operations required to maintain the work in a satisfactory state as it is, i.e., to the standard already laid down.

Special repairs are repairs, which are not periodical or frequent e.g., re-roofing a building, replacing beams or renewing a floor. Special repairs to an irrigation work include all operations under taken with a view to maintaining the work in a better condition, i.e., to a higher standard than that already laid down, by using materials of a more lasting kind, without increasing the efficiency or the scope of the system, e.g., substituting cement plastering or pointing for ordinary plastering or pointing, substituting plastering for pointing, substituting rough stone masonary for dry stone packing, revetting tank bunds at the sites of beaches and river margins where they are eroded, grouting newly the surface of aprons and revetments and lengthening aprons and revetments to protect the eroded portions of the beds and margins of rivers, canals and channels.

Certain operations are partly original works and partly repairs, e.g., substitutions of a terraced roof for a tiled roof, substitution of steel beams for damaged teak ones, or dismantling and extending a verandah. A mixed work of this kind should, for the purpose of determining the authority competent to sanction it, be treated as an original work. When a structure or a part of a structure is dismantled because it is structurally unsound and replaced by a new work which in all material essentials merely reproduces what was dismantled, the work is included in the category of repairs, unless it is done to make newly purchased or previously abandoned building usable.

165.The Public Works Department is responsible for the execution of all works which the Government have not specifically allotted to other departments— See Articles 166 to 171. In special circumstances a work for which the Public Works Department is responsible may be executed by another department on behalf of the Public Works Department by agreement between the two departments.

Works executed by Government servants of other departments acting as Public Works Disburses are usually petty works constructed on standard designs. Any such Government servant may, however, apply to the Superintending Engineer to depute a Public Works Officer to examine and such work when in progress or when completed and to make a general report as to whether the work is being satisfactorily carried out or has been completed in accordance with the estimate.

Note:— The system to be adopted in the case of jail works should be as follows:—

When jail works are executed by the contract system, jail labour should be employed by the contractors on all unskilled items of works connected with the contract as far as possible. Therefore when tenders are called for, for the work it should be stipulated in the tender notice that the contractor should employ jail labour on all unskilled items of work connected with contract if such labour is available with the Jail Department and that the jail labour, if supplied, will be charged for at the rate prescribed for the purpose. A similar procedure should be adopted in regard to jail works executed departmentally by the Public Works Department. In cases in which jail labour is not employed on a work for the reason that the Jail Department is not able to supply it, a written statement from the Jail Superintendent to that effect should be obtained and recorded by the Public Works Department Officers.

Works allotted to the Forest Department

166. The Forest Department’s works are usually executed in out-of-the-way localities and under Special circumstances, with which Forest Officers are better acquainted than Public Works Officers. The Government have therefore allotted to the Forest Department all its own works except those for the execution of which the agency of the Public Works Department is more suitable. If the Chief Conservator of Forests wishes to entrust any such work to the Public Works Department, he should address the Chief Engineer in the matter. When there is a difference of opinion between the two officers in regard to any such proposal, the Chief Conservator of Forests should obtain the orders of the Government.

Works allotted to the other Departments

167. (a) The Government have allotted the following works to the department which uses or requires the building:—

(i)Works of petty construction, maintenance and repair, the estimated cost of which does not exceed ₹2,500 for any one work relating to buildings originally constructed by the Public Works Department, whether borne on the Public Works Register or not.

(ii) Works of petty construction and repair of Police lines, huts and stations which do not form part of Taluk Offices and other buildings originally constructed by the Public Works Department but not borne on the Public Works Register, subject to the delegation of powers.

(iii) All works relating to buildings constructed by the departments other than Public Works Department and not borne on the Public Works Register.

Note:— The repair and maintenance works will be undertaken by the Public Works Department in respect of a building which is occupied by more than one department.

In the case of a building occupied partly by a Local Fund Office along with one or more Government Offices, the cost of the annual repairs should not exceed 1.5 percent or any other rate that may have been sanctioned on the capital cost of the building.

Each occupying department may carry out petty internal repairs in the portion which it occupies.

(b) The rules and conditions governing the execution of such works by the department concerned are given below :

(i)All estimates should be covered by adequate budget provision.

(ii)Estimates of petty construction and repairs may be sanctioned by the Heads of Departments. The Heads of Departments are authorised to sanction estimates for annual thatching irrespective of the monetary limit prescribed in (a) above.

(iii) Such works should ordinarily be undertaken by the departments using or requiring them, utilising the funds placed at their disposal in the budget.

(iv) The works described above should not involve structural alterations and additions to buildings in–charge of the Public Works Department. When they involve structural alteration and additions to such buildings, civil officers should obtain the concurrence of the Executive Engineer for the same and should also communicate to the Executive Engineer, the actual cost incurred so that the capital accounts of the buildings may be correctly maintained.

(v) If repairs are sanctioned to the roof of a building occupied by more than one department, they should be of a trifling nature.

(vi) Civil Officers should seek the assistance of the officers of the Public Works Department wherever they consider that the work under taken by them under these rules requires professional supervision.

168. The allotment of certain works to departments other than the Public Works Department in the preceding Article is subject to the following conditions:—

(1) If the work involves a structural alteration or addition to a building borne on the Public Works Register, the Government servant who proposes to sanction the work should obtain the Executive Engineer’s consent to the proposed alteration or addition, and should also inform him of the actual cost incurred, so that he may be able to maintain the capital accounts of the building correctly. While giving his concurrence to the proposals the Executive Engineer should consider whether the work will require technical advice of a skilled nature or professional supervision, and if so, inform the Government servant concerned with the work that the necessary technical advice or assistance will be given by the Public Works Departmental Officer during the course of construction and that for this purpose timely intimation should be given of the date of commencement of the work.

(2) If the work relates to a building not borne on the Public Works Register or relates to a building borne on the Public Works Register but does not involve any structural alteration or addition, the Government servant who proposes to sanction the work should ask for advice or assistance from a Public Works Officer only if he considers that the work requires skilled technical advice or professional supervision. In that case, he should inform the Public Works Officer for whose assistance he asked of the reasons for his opinion. If the Public Works Officer considers that the work does not require skilled technical advice or professional supervision, he should return the requisition with a full statement of the reasons for his opinion.

(3) A Government servant of another department who executes any work relating to a building borne on the Public Works Register should inform the Superintending Engineer annually not later than the first June, of the amount spent by him on repairs to the building in the preceding financial year.

169. (a) The allotment of certain works to departments other than the Public Works Department in Article 167 does not apply to any works relating to the following buildings, the maintenance and repairs of which, irrespective of cost, are allotted to the Public Works Department:—

(1)Buildings whose capital cost is above ₹50,000 and also buildings whose capital cost is not known, but whose maintenance cost exceeds ₹2,500 in each individual case or connected group.

(2)All official residences except those under the administrative control of the Forest Department.

(3)Buildings which have been specially placed in-charge of the Public Works Department for maintenance and repairs.

(4)Buildings occupied by more than one department, except in the case of petty internal repair which may be attended to by the occupying Department.

(5)Government buildings wholly occupied by departments of the Central Government on payment of rent.

(6) Buildings occupied partly by the departments of the Central Government or as official residences and partly by the departments of the Government of Kerala.

Note (i) :— The expression “internal repairs” should be taken as including items such as white-washing and petty repairs to walls, inside and outside, repairs to floors including those of verandahs, repairs to ceiling, repairs to doors and windows, painting or wood-oiling or varnishing them inside as well as outside.

Note (ii) :— Petty internal repairs may be attended to by the occupying department. No alteration in any part which might have the effect of altering any part of the design may be carried out with out reference to the Public Works Department. (e.g., altering the pattern of the flooring or using different quality of timber in connection with repairs to ceiling).

Note(iii) :— Repairs to roofing would be an item of external repair (to be done by the Public Works Department ). So also repairs(internal as well as external) to the out houses in common use and repairs to compound walls. All special repair should like-wise be carried out by the Public Works Department.

Maintenance of
Register of Immovable Properties

170. The permanent registers, one for buildings and lands and the other for roads, bridges and culverts, will be maintained in Form 23 (I and II) by all Officers to show the assets of Government in the form of immovable properties under their charge.

The registers maintained by each officer, including the Head of the Department, will contain particulars of all the Government lands, buildings, roads, bridges and culverts under the control of himself and the officers subordinate to him. Changes such as transfer of custody or construction of new buildings, roads, bridges and culverts or removal of old ones should be intimated to all the officers concerned to note and an annual certificate should be recorded in the registers at the end of March to the effect that all the changes during the year have been brought into the registers.

The Heads of Departments other than the Public Works Department and the Superintending Engineers of the Public Works Department will forward extracts from the Register of Lands and buildings of the particulars relating to residential buildings under their control to the Accountant General direct. Additions, corrections or modifications, if any, to these particulars should also be forwarded to the Accountant-General once in every year, i.e., by the first of May.

Electrical Works

171. (a) As a rule, all original electrical works connected with Government buildings will be executed by the Electrical Wing attached to the Public Works Department (Buildings and Roads Branch). If a Head of a Department wishes to arrange for the execution of an electrical work himself, he should apply to the Government for the allotment of the work to his Department. If the Government allot the work to his department he should get the detailed plans and estimates prepared by the Electrical Wing of the P. W. D., call for tenders and get the work executed by licensed Electrical Contractors. He should request the Electrical Executive Engineer of the Electrical Wing in the P. W. D . to give any technical advice or assistance needed in the execution of work. He should also inform the Executive Engineer (Buildings and Roads) of the expenditure he incurs on the work so as to enable him to maintain the capital account of the buildings correctly.

(b) The custodian of the electrical installations of a Government building or part there of will be the head of the office occupying the building or part thereof. Replacement of bulbs and starters of fluorescent lights and bulbs of incandescent lights will have to be done by the custodians of the installations for which required bulbs, tubes and starters should be obtained by them from the Electrical Radio Stores of the P. W. D . and kept in their stock for ready replacement. The replacement work will be attended to by the staff of the Electrical Wing of the P. W. D. if required.

(c) Payment may be made in advance by the custodian of electrical installations for service connections to Government buildings, if the supply agency requires this and the expenditure on this account has to be met from the contingencies of the concerned Department.

GENERAL RULES

Selection of Site

172. The site for a new building should, if possible, be fixed before the detailed plans and estimates are prepared. The local authority concerned should always be consulted as to the suitability of the site, except when the proposed new building is to be erected within a reserved forest.

Preparation of Estimates

173. (a) No work may be started before a proper estimate for it has been prepared and sanctioned by the competent authority, unless it is so started strictly in accordance with a special order of the Government or some specific provision in this Chapter or in departmental rule or order (See also Article 184 and 185).

(b) An estimate should be prepared in Form 23-A except when a special form of estimate is required for a very large work or has been specially prescribed for a particular kind of work in any departmental code, manual or order of the Government.

(c) Every estimate, whether for an original work or for repairs, should provide for the removal of all rubbish which may have accumulated, filling in unsightly pits, etc., when necessary, at the site of the work; all work establishment employed specially on the work; any incidental expenditure required, such as the cost of sheds for workmen and stores; and, under separate sub heads ; all watchman sanctioned by competent authority for the care of vacant buildings, guarding works, working sluices, etc.

(d) An estimate for the annual maintenance of a building should provide for the Municipal or other taxes payable on the property, and it should be submitted to the Government servant occupying the building concerned, for countersignature in token that it provides for all repairs known to be required. When a specific period has been fixed after which a particular item or kind of work should be renewed, every estimate for repairs should show the date it was last renewed.

(e) Government servants of other departments who act as Public Works disbursers in respect of any works (See Article 165) should prepare the estimates for them in the forms adopted in the Public Works Department, together with the plans where necessary, and obtain the necessary technical sanction of the competent authority in the Public Works Department. Standard designs should be adopted, as far as possible, with such modifications as circumstances may require.

Sanction for Works

174.(a) The powers delegated by the Government to the various departmental authorities to sanction expenditure on works of construction and repairs allotted to the respective departments are specified in the Book of Financial Powers.

(b) The power delegated to an authority subordinate to the Government to sanction expenditure on works must not be so used as to evade the necessity for obtaining sanction from a higher authority by sanctioning in instalments a group of connected works or alterations or a group of connected purchases the total cost of which will exceed what that authority is empowered to sanction.

(c) The sanctioning or other prescribed departmental authority should communicate every sanction to expenditure on works to the Accountant General in accordance with the procedure laid down for each department, except when the sanction relates to a work allotted to a department, other than the Public Works and Forest and the bills relating to the sanction are to be drawn or countersigned by the sanctioning authority itself.

Estimates and Sanctions
to be treated as confidential

175. All Government servants should treat the rate and the amount of cost entered against each item in an estimate and the abstract showing the total estimated cost of a work or part of a work as strictly confidential. No information concerning them may be communicated on any account to any contractor, piece-worker or prospective tenderer.

Exception.— Contracts relating to extraction of timber in the Forest Department are exempted from the operation of the above rule.

Utilisation of Savings

176.(a) The sanction to an estimate should always be regarded as being strictly limited to the precise objects for which the estimate was intended to provide. Any anticipated or actual savings in a sanctioned estimate for a specified work should not without the special sanction of a competent authority, be applied to any additional work which was not originally contemplated, unless it is fairly contingent on the actual execution of the work.

(b) Savings due to the abandonment of a substantial section of a work sanctioned by any authority should not be applied to work on other sections without the special sanction of that authority. If the estimated cost of a section which is abandoned is not less than 5 per cent of the total sanctioned cost of a work, it should be treated as amounting to the abandonment of a substantial section of the works. In the case of irrigation work the estimated cost of the Head Works will be excluded in working out the sanctioned cost of the work for this purpose.

Supplementary Estimates

177. In respect of a development of a work which is held to be necessary while it is in progress but is not fairly contingent in the proper execution of the work as first sanctioned, a supplementary estimate should be submitted to the competent authority for sanction together with a full report as to the circumstances which make it necessary.

A Government servant who submits a supplementary estimate for sanction should see—

(1) That it is numbered consecutively with reference to the supplementary estimates, if any, already submitted in respect of the same work; and

(2) That the application shows the amount of the original estimate, the amount of the previous supplementary estimates already sanctioned or pending sanction, and the total amount of expenditure on the work proposed for sanction, including the amount of the supplementary estimate now submitted.

Method of Executing Works

178. Works are executed by one of the undermentioned five methods

(i) departmentally by the employment of daily labour

(ii) by piece-work agreement,

(iii) by schedule contract,

(iv) by lump sum contract, and

(v) by percentage rate contract.

\

(i) departmentally by the employment of daily labour

Method (i) is adopted in cases where no contractors are available or where for other reasons, it is found more economical. Under this method, the department manufacturers or purchases its own materials. The purchase of materials or tools and plant and machinery is governed by the Stores Rules.

(ii) by piece-work agreement,

Under

method (ii) the piece-worker merely agrees to execute a specified work at specified rates without reference to quantity or time. The conditions of the contract and the security to be taken from the piece-worker for the due fulfilment of the contract are set forth in the standard forms. The piece-worker usually possesses little professional knowledge or capital or employs no supervising staff. The department arranges for the supervision, the setting out and measuring of all work. The piece-work system shall ordinarily be confined to works (including improvements and repairs) costing not more than ` 2,500. If in any case of improvements and repairs costing above ` 2,500 it is considered preferable to adopt the piece-work system instead of method (iii) the reason, therefor should be recorded in the relevant file. The schedule of rates in the piece-work agreements should show rates either for finished work or for labour and materials, as the case may be, even for items for which lump sum have been provided in the sanctioned estimates.

(iii) by schedule contract,

In regard to

method (iii) under a schedule contract the contractor undertakes to execute the work at specified rates, the sum he is to receive depending on the quantities and kinds of work done or materials supplied. The work should also be completed within a specified time-limit from the date of commencement of work. These conditions are set forth in the standard form of agreement (reproduced in Appendix I to Kerala Public Works Department Code).

(iv) by lump sum contract

Under method (iv) the contractor agrees to execute a complete work with all its contingencies in accordance with the drawings and specifications for a fixed sum.

The essential characteristics of this kind of contracts are:

(i) A price adjustments schedule is specified in order to regulate the amount to be added to or deducted from the fixed sum on account of additions and alterations not covered by the contract.

(ii) Except as provided in clause (i) no addition is made in the contract to the departmental estimate of the work, schedule of rates or quantities of work to be done.

(iii) The detailed measurements of the work done are not required to be recorded except in respect of additions and alterations.

Execution of works on lump sum basis will be resorted to only in exceptional cases of absolute necessity. No such work should be executed without the prior sanction of Government. The contract documents in such cases will be got approved by Government in consultation with the Chief Engineer, the Law Department and the Accountant General. Payments to contractors for work done are made subject to the terms of the contract and any subsidiary instructions issued by Government in this behalf and on the certificates of the officers in charge of the work.

(v) by percentage rate contract.

Under method (v) the departmental rates for the different items of work in an estimate are published and the contractor quotes this rate at a percentage above, or below or at par the estimate rates so published. Only a single percentage applicable to all the items is quoted and this percentage rate is applicable to extra items also, if any, are found necessary during construction. Other conditions of contract are similar to those applicable to schedule contracts.

A modification of this type of contract is when, instead of estimate rates for a work, the schedule of rates is published and the contractor is asked to quote a percentage above, below or at par the schedule of rates so published. Since neither the total quantity of work nor the time is specified, this modified form of percentage rate contract can be applied to piece work contracts only.

Purchase of Materials and
Invitations to Tender

179. When a Government servant buys materials for the execution of a work or gives a work on contract, he should comply with the rules regarding the purchase of stores and the general principles governing invitations to tender contained in Chapter VI.

Provision of Funds

180. Except in accordance with the provisions of Articles 184 and 185 no Government servant may enter into a contract for the execution of a work unless funds have been duly provided for it or an assurance has been received from the authority competent to provide the necessary funds that they will be allotted before the liability matures.

Execution of Agreements

181. No work which is to be executed under a contract should be started until the contractor has signed a formal written agreement, unless it is started without a formal agreement under the provisions of Article 182 or Article 185.

182. It is not essential to obtain a formal agreement in regard to any work of petty construction or repairs estimated to cost not more than ` 1,000 but a Government servant competent to execute contracts may, when he considers it desirable, obtain a formal agreement even in such a case. If no formal agreement is executed; there should at least be a written understanding specifying prices and rates, though it need not be in any prescribed form.

Note:— The amount provided for rates and taxes and watchmen’s wages whether a regular agreement with a contractor or piece-worker excluded from the total amount for the purpose of deciding whether a regular agreement with a contractor or piece-worker is necessary.

183..When a Government servant of a department other than the Public Works Department proposes to give a work on contract, he may consult the Executive Engineer, if he thinks it necessary, and should get an agreement executed in the form used by the Public Works Department (with necessary changes) if no special procedure or form has been prescribed for the purpose in the departmental manual or code or by any order of the Government.

The principles stated in Article 51 should be borne in mind when contracts are drafted.

Starting of work without a sanctioned estimate or without adequate funds having been provided

184. If a higher authority orders a Government servant, on any ground whatever, to start a work for which an estimate is required under the rules but no estimate has been sanctioned or for which adequate funds have not been provided and no competent authority has undertaken to provide the necessary funds, before the liability matures (whether an estimate has been sanctioned or not), it should convey the order to start the work to him in writing. A Government servant who starts any such work without a written order from a higher authority and a Government servant who issues a written order to start a work otherwise than in accordance with the rules will be liable to be held personally responsible for paying for the work done if it is found that his action was not fully justified by very exceptional circumstances. On receipt of a written order directing him to carry out any such work, a Government servant should immediately inform the Accountant General that he is starting a work for which no estimate has been sanctioned, or is incurring a liability for which there is no provision or no sufficient provision of funds, and should, at the same time, state approximately the amount of the liability which he is likely to incur by complying with the written order which he has received. The Accountant General will then be responsible for immediately bringing the facts to the notice of the Head of the Department, except the irregularities, if any, committed by the latter, which he should report at once direct to the Government. The Head of the Department should report to the Government any failure to comply with the rules regarding works that call for disciplinary action by the Government. The Accountant General will report to the Government the facts of any case in which he considers the action taken by the Head of the Department to be inadequate. The Government will take disciplinary action against any Government servant – administrative or executive who fails or delays to comply with these orders.

Note :— The provisions of this Article will be relaxed in regard to famine relief works but, this does not relieve any Government servant from his responsibility for obtaining the necessary sanction to a revised estimate and the necessary additional appropriation of funds, as soon as he can foresee how far an estimate for a work entrusted to him for execution is likely to be exceeded.

Starting a work in an Emergency

(Article.185)

185. It is occasionally necessary for a Government servant to start a work immediately on the occurrence of some sudden, unforeseen emergency, e.g., the breaching of the bund of an irrigation work, without waiting for an estimate to be sanctioned and funds provided.

A Government servant who does this should report the facts at once his immediate superior and to the Accountant General.

If any such work is entrusted to a contractor and it is impossible to enter into a formal agreement with him beforehand, the Government servant on the spot who arranges for the work to be started should at least enter into a piece-work agreement with him.

This can be terminated at anytime if the authority competent to sanction the estimate should so decide when the emergency is such that even a piece¬work agreement cannot be completed before starting the work, the Government servant on the spot and the contractor should at least both sign a written order for the work. If writing materials are not available at the time and the work has to be started with out a written order, the written order should be prepared and signed by the Government servant and the contractor as soon as writing materials can be obtained. The Government servant should then prepare a proper estimate without any avoidable delay and submit it as early as possible to the competent authority for sanction. A formal written agreement in the proper form (or a written understanding specifying prices and rates if that is sufficient with reference to Article 182) should then be concluded with the contractor as expeditiously as possible.

Muster roll
for a work executed departmentally

(Article.186)

186 Except for the permanent and temporary employees whose pay is charged to the head “establishment” and the members of the work-charged establishment, all persons who are engaged departmentally for the execution of a work should be regarded as day labourers and their wages should be drawn on muster rolls. The muster roll is the initial record of labour employed each day on a work. The Government servant in immediate charge of the work should write it up daily.

187 Muster rolls should be prepared and dealt with in accordance with the following rules:—

(a) One or more muster rolls should be kept for each work but a muster roll should never be prepared in duplicate. One muster roll may be kept for labourers employed on several small works, if there is no objection to regarding the total unpaid wages as relating only to the largest work in the group.

(b) Every entry in a muster roll should be made, if possible, in ink and otherwise in indelible pencil.

(d) The daily attendance or absence of each labourers and any fine inflicted on him should be accorded daily in Part I of the muster roll in such a way as—

(i) to facilitate the correct calculation of his net wages for the period of payment;

(ii) to render it difficult to tamper with or to make unauthorised additions to, or alterations in entries once made; and

(iii) to facilitate the correct classification of the cost of labour by works and sub-heads of works, where necessary.

Daily attendance or absence of each labourer shall be recorded daily in :

(A) Attendance register

(B) Muster Roll-Part I

(C) Work register

(D) Register of unpaid wages

Note:— Superior Officers should check the attendance of labourers as frequently as possible.

(e) After a muster roll has been passed by the Government servant who is authorised to draw the bill for the works expenditure, payment should be made as soon as possible. Each payment should be made or witnessed by the Government servant of highest standing available. He should certify to the payments individually or by groups and also record at the foot of the muster roll, both in words and figures, the total amount paid on each date. The details of unpaid items, if any, should be recorded in the Register of Unpaid Wages and the amount so transferred deducted from the grant total of the muster roll so as to bring out the “balance paid” before the Government servant who makes the payments, completes the memorandum at the foot of the muster roll.

(f) Payments of unpaid items carried forward to the Register of Unpaid Wages, when made, should be recorded and certified in the same way as payments of current items.

(g) All wages not claimed within three months should, as a rule, be forfeited.

Note 1:— In the Forest Department wages remaining unpaid for three months should be reported to the Divisional Forest Officer who will decide in each case whether the liability should continue to be borne in the accounts of the work concerned.

Note 2:— For the procedure to be followed in the Public Works Department, see the Local Ruling under Article 121 in the Kerala Account Code, Volume III.

(h) The progress of the work done by the labourers should be recorded in Part II of the muster roll, if the work can be measured. If it cannot be measured, a remark should be recorded to that effect. Part II need not be written up at all when progress is reported once a month or often or in any other suitable form and the separate reports are considered sufficient.

(i) The Government servant who is responsible for the payments need not submit the paid muster rolls to any higher authority, unless he is specially instructed to do so.

Labour engaged departmentally
through a contractor

188. When work is executed departmentally by the employment of daily labour (See Article 178), it is objectionable in principle to engage and pay the necessary daily labour through a contractor instead of on a muster roll under the ordinary procedure. In a great emergency it may sometimes be impossible to obtain the necessary labour in time otherwise than through a contractor. If it is possible, in such a case , to determine the quantity of work done after its completion or at intervals during its progress, the contractor should be paid at suitable rates for the work actually done. If this is not practicable, the contractor may be paid according to the number of labourers employed each day, and his own profit or commission should either be included in the rates allowed or paid separately in a lump sum or at a percentage rate. With a view to avoiding disputes with the contractor in such a case, he should be requested to sign the daily reports in token that he accepts them as correct. The muster roll and the measurement book should not be used when the contractor is paid according to the number of labourers employed each day.

Measurement Book

189. (a) All works done otherwise than by daily labour and all supplies relating to a work should be paid for on the basis of measurements recorded in a Measurement Book, Form K. P. W. 21. The measurement book is the original record of actual measurement or count. The descriptions in a measurement book should be lucid, so that the items described may be easily identified and checked. A measurement book is a very important record and must be kept with great care, since it may have to be produced as evidence in a court of law.

Note:— In the Forest Department the measurement book is to be maintained for works under the budget head “Communications and Buildings” in all cases where the amount expended exceeds ` 50. The sanctioning authority will, however, be permitted to order the maintenance of a measurement book in other case while communicating its sanction to the executive subordinate concerned.

(b) Whenever a measurement book changes hands, even if it is sent only from one office to another within the same building, some responsible person of a grade not below that of a clerk should acknowledge receipt of it in writing.

Government servants should strictly observe the following general instructions in regard to measurement book:—

(1) All measurements should be taken down neatly in a measurement book issued for the purpose and nowhere else. No one may record any measurements in a measurement book except a Government servant who is duly empowered to make payment for the work done or a duly authorised executive subordinate in immediate charge of the work who has been supplied with a measurement book.

(2)The lines under columns (1) to (4) on each page beginning with the top line, should invariably be filled up at the work. No line should be left blank. Any lines that are not required on any page should be carefully scored through, so that no additional entry can be made afterwards.

(3) Each set of measurements should begin with entries showing:—

(i) In the case of work done¬

(a) full name of work as given in the estimate,

(b) situation of work,

(d) number and date of his agreement, if any,

(e) date of commencement of work (i.e., date on which site was handed over ),

(f) date of actual completion of work, and

(g) date of measurement; or,

(ii) In the case of materials supplied—

(a)name of supplier,

(b)number and date of his agreement, if any, or of the order,

(d)date of written order to begin supplies,

(e)date of actual completion of supplies, and

(f)date of measurement.

Each set of measurements should end with the dated signature and designation of the Government servant who takes the measurements. A suitable abstract should then be prepared which should show, in the case of measurements for work done the total quantity of each distinct item of work relating to each sanctioned sub-head.

(4) Since all payments for work or supplies are based on the quantities recorded in the measurement book, a Government servant who takes the measurements must take all possible care to record the quantities clearly and accurately. He will also be held responsible for the correctness of the entries in the column “contents or area” in respect of the measurements recorded by him. If the measurements are taken in connection with a running contract account on which work has been previously measured, he will also be held responsible for recording a reference to the last set of measurements. If the measurements taken are the first set of measurements on a running account, or the first and final measurements this fact should be suitably noted against the entries in the measurement book, and in the latter case the actual date of completion should be noted in the prescribed place.

The signature of the contractor or his agent should be obtained in the measurement book after each set of measurements below the statement. “I accept the measurements”. If the contractor or his agent is illiterate, his mark should be attested by an independent witness.

(5) Entries should be recorded continuously in the measurement book. No page should be left blank or torn out. If a page is left blank inadvertently, it should be cancelled by diagonal lines as soon as this is noticed, and the cancellation should be attested by the dated initials of the Government servant concerned.

(6) No erasures is permitted. If a mistake is made the Government servant who is responsible should correct it and attest the correction by his dated initials. When any measurements are cancelled, the cancellation must be attested by the dated initials of the Government servant who orders it or supported by reference to his orders initialed by the Government servant who took the measurements. In either case, the reason for the cancellation should always be recorded.

(7) Entries should be made, if possible, in ink and otherwise in indelible pencil. Pencil entries should never be linked over. Every entry in the “contents or area” column should be made in ink.

(8)Each measurement book should contain an index and the Government servant in charge of it should keep the index up to date.

(9) At the time of payment, the Government servant who authorises payment should draw a diagonal red ink line across every page containing the detailed measurements relating to the work or supplies paid for, and should record reference to the number and date of the voucher or sub-voucher in the abstract of measurements.

(10) The measurement book should be produced for inspection on request by the Accountant General or a duly authorised member of his staff.

Check- Measurement of Works

191.(a) When a departmental rule or order requires that a work be check-measured before payment, the contractor should not be paid for work done until it has been check-measured by the prescribed authority. Superior officers should also make a point of checking the detailed measurements of works in the course of their tours.

(b) Check-measurement is intended to detect errors and prevent fraudulent entries. It should therefore be done with discretion and method. The items which appear most likely to be incorrect and most easily susceptible of fraud and those which would seriously affect the total of the bill if inaccurate should be selected for check-measurement.

(c) When measurements are taken jointly by more than one Government servant, the senior most of them should record and sign the measurements.

Aid to Contractors

192. (a) No advance should be paid to a contractor except with the special sanction of the Government or of a competent authority to whom they have delegated power to sanction such advances. Government servants should make every endeavor to maintain a system under which payment is made only for work actually done. When, in exceptional circumstances, a Government servant considers essential to give a contractor an advance, he should apply to the competent authority for sanction. Whenever any such advance is sanctioned, all the Government servants concerned should take the necessary precautions to secure the Government against loss and to prevent the system from becoming general or continuing longer than is necessary.

(b) Government funds may be spent on behalf of a contractor in accordance with the terms of his agreement and subsequently recovered from him, when it is necessary to engage labourers or contractors or incur other liabilities on his behalf in order to complete work which he has neglected or failed to complete with reference to the terms of his agreement. Government materials are also supplied to a contractor in certain circumstances, subject to full recovery of the cost from him. Special care should be taken in connection with all recoverable charges to see that the contractor or other person on whose behalf the charges have been incurred is not allowed the benefit or any concession to which he would not be entitled if he had himself incurred the charges.

Liability of Contractors

(Article.193)

193. When a contractor has entered into an agreement to execute a work but subsequently, for any cause whatever, anticipates that the contract will result in a net loss to him this should not be accepted as a reason for not compelling him to complete the work. A contractor should look after his own interest properly when entering into an agreement, and has no claim to any leniency in enforcing a contract, when it turns out to be less favorable to him than he originally anticipated.

ഒരു കരാറുകാരൻ ഒരു പ്രവൃത്തി നിർവഹിക്കുന്നതിന് ഒരു കരാറിൽ ഏർപ്പെട്ടിട്ടുണ്ടെങ്കിലും, പിന്നീട് ഏതെങ്കിലും കാരണത്താൽ, കരാർ തനിക്ക് ഒരു നഷ്ടം വരുത്തുമെന്ന് പ്രതീക്ഷിക്കുമ്പോൾ, ജോലി പൂർത്തിയാക്കാൻ അവനെ നിർബന്ധിക്കാത്തതിന്റെ ഒരു കാരണമായി ഇത് അംഗീകരിക്കരുത്. അത് ആദ്യം പ്രതീക്ഷിച്ചതിനേക്കാൾ അനുകൂലമല്ലെന്ന് തോന്നുമ്പോൾ. ഒരു കരാറിൽ ഏർപ്പെടുമ്പോൾ ഒരു കരാറുകാരൻ സ്വന്തം താൽപ്പര്യം ശരിയായി പരിപാലിക്കണം, കൂടാതെ ഒരു കരാർ നടപ്പാക്കുന്നതിൽ യാതൊരു ക്ലെയിമും ഇല്ല,

Completion Report

194. When a work has been duly completed, the Government servant who pays for it should have a completion report prepared and forward it to the Accountant General or other prescribed authority in accordance with the rules applicable to his department. The report should be prepared in the form specially prescribed for the department concerned or in Form 24. Every completion report should show the name of the work, the number and date of the order sanctioning it, the amount of expenditure sanctioned and the actual expenditure incurred. If the actual expenditure exceeds the amount in the sanctioned estimates, the completion report should be sent to the prescribed authority through the authority which sanctioned the estimate. The reasons for the excess expenditure should be stated in the completion report, and the sanction of the authority competent to sanction the total expenditure should be obtained and recorded.

Note :— The above rule does not apply to the Public Works Department, Government servants of this department should follow the rules contained in the departmental code or manual as regards reporting the completion of works.

Disposal of Surplus Materials

(Article.195)

As soon as a work has been completed, or as soon as it becomes clear that no materials will be required for use in executing it, the Government servant in charge of the work should arrange to dispose of all surplus materials belonging to the Government either by transfer to other works in progress or by sale.

ഒരു പ്രവൃത്തി പൂർത്തിയായിക്കഴിഞ്ഞാലുടൻ, അല്ലെങ്കിൽ അത് നടപ്പാക്കുന്നതിന് മെറ്റീരിയലുകളുടെ ആവശ്യമില്ലെന്ന് വ്യക്തമായാലുടൻ, ജോലിയുടെ ചുമതലയുള്ള സർക്കാർ ഉദ്യോഗസ്ഥൻ സർക്കാരിന്റേതായ എല്ലാ മിച്ച വസ്തുക്കളും നീക്കം ചെയ്യാൻ ക്രമീകരിക്കണം. പുരോഗതിയിലോ വിൽപ്പനയിലോ ഉള്ള മറ്റ് സൃഷ്ടികളിലേക്ക് മാറ്റുക.

Protection of Religious Edifices

(Article.196)

No temple, mosque, church, chapel, tomb or other building devoted to religious use should on any account be destroyed, injured or occupied in connection with the execution of any work unlessit is done under a special order of the Government or with the full and free consent of the persons interested in the religious edifice and the concurrence of the principal civil authority on the spot.

ഏതെങ്കിലും ക്ഷേത്രം, പള്ളി, പള്ളി, ചാപ്പൽ, ശവകുടീരം, മതപരമായ ഉപയോഗത്തിനായി നീക്കിവച്ചിട്ടുള്ള മറ്റ് കെട്ടിടങ്ങൾ എന്നിവ ഏതെങ്കിലും ഒരു പ്രവൃത്തിയുടെ നിർവഹണവുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ട് നശിപ്പിക്കപ്പെടുകയോ പരിക്കേൽക്കുകയോ കൈവശം വയ്ക്കുകയോ ചെയ്യരുത്. മത കെട്ടിടത്തിൽ താൽപ്പര്യമുള്ള വ്യക്തികളുടെ സൗജന്യ സമ്മതവും സ്ഥലത്തെ പ്രധാന സിവിൽ അതോറിറ്റിയുടെ സമ്മതവും.

Works allotted to the Public Works Department

197.The relevant provisions in the Kerala Public Works Account Code, Kerala Public Works Department Code and the Kerala Account Code, Volume III will be followed when works relating to other departments are executed by the Public Works Department.

Consultation with the
Public Works Officers

198.Departmental Officers should consult the local Public Works Officers about any work which may involve engineering difficulties or in regard to which advice based on the professional knowledge and experience of a Public Works Officer is likely to prove valuable.