J&K High Court smells a rat in ‘Willingness’ of contractors to complete delayed projects at old rates

New Delhi: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has ordered an audit of road projects in the union territory, being suspicious about the willingness of private contractors to complete the work at rates that were set five to ten years ago by the government.

“Apparently, it can be for one reason that the rates at which the works are allotted are so high that any contractor is able to execute the same even after five to ten years of allotment thereof, even if the time provided for completion of the work may be one to two years. The fact cannot be disputed that there is always increase in various costs including the labour cost during all this period; besides this, material cost also increases,” the order delivered on Wednesday reads.