India - Gujarat Rural Roads Project (Credit 1757-IN) : World Bank supervision mission (November 17 - 22, 1988)

 73089 INDIA CREDIT 1757-IN - GUJARAT RURAL ROADS PROJECT WORLD BANK SUPERVISION MISSION November 17-22, 1988 Aide Memoire Introduction 1.1 A World Bank mission compr1s1ng Messrs. R. Mulligan, A. cittati (Highway Engineers) from headquarters, and C.S. Nawathe (Highway Engineer) from the New Delhi Office visited the State of Gujarat from November 17 through 22 to supervise the subject project. 1.2 This Aide Memoire summarises the mission's discussions with GOG officials. The conclusions and recommendations recorded here, however, are subject to confirmation by the Bank. 1.3 The mission wishes to record its appreciation of the assistance received from all concerned in the Government of Gujarat and in particular for the arrangements made for visiting many of the project work sites. A list of officials met is enclosed as Annex 1. Background 2.1 Credit 1757-IN for SDR 101 million (US$ 119.6 million equivalent) was signed on May 12, 1987, and provided for (i) the construction, reconstruction or improvement of about 4,040 km of village roads in seven districts of Gujarat where the dairy industry predominates: (ii) the procurement of road construction equipment to facilitate the implementation of (i) above: (iii) the construction of offices, workshops and other project accomodation; (iv) technical assistance and engineering services for project management and training: and  Page 2 (v) a Maintenance Planning study and a Road Safety Program. 2.2 The Credit became effective on August 27, 1987. 3. civil Works 3.1 Government's administrative approvals for agreed programs of project works initiated in fiscal years (April 1 to March 31) 1987/88 and 1988/89 were obtained in good time for contracts to be bid among prequalified contractors according to LCB procedures. Contracts, which aggregate short sections of road works in convenient proximity, are generally of 12-18 months duration. Administrative approval has been sought for the works to commence in the 1989/90 program and a fresh contractor prequalification is being undertaken. 3.2 The works inspected were, in general, poorly executed. This unsatisfactory situation has several main causes: (a) the quality of supervision is inadequate. The project works seen had not been properly set out. Control of both line and level was lacking, andthe limits of embankment works had not been defined. Camber boards and straight edges seen by the mission were not sufficiently rigid and were useless as reference tools. Documentation shown to the mission indicated that some density tests had been carried out, yet it appeared that, particularly in the reconstruction works, the compaction of the widened embankment on each side of the original formation had not been carried out commencing with the bottom layer. In order that supervison is to be effective, the personnel concerned must be both capable of the work and decisive in their dealings with the contractor. The mission was left with the feeling that for some of the works, the contractors were in control and that the engineers were only infrequently on site. Unfortunately, this situation is largely due to the lack of transport. Although there is adequate provision under the project for the purchase of vehicles for supervision, only a few are on site. The remainder should be bought without delay and allocated to the site personnel who have need of them. Another shortcoming is the lack of survey and quality control equipment. As a minimum, a theodolite and level with ancillary equipment, measuring tapes, camber boards and straight-edges to IRC standards, plus sieve sets, field density equipment, should be purchased under the project and issued to each supervising team. With transport and adequate equipment there should be no need for reliance on the contractors' resources and no excuse for inadequate supervision.  Page 3 3.2(b) The only items of compaction equipment seen in use were the 10 ton tandem rollers, in almost all cases inappropriate to the soil conditions. For most of the site conditions, vibrating rollers would be the most effective, but for clay conditions, sheepsfoot and pneumatic equipment would be needed. Where the present carriageway is to be widened, equipment capable of compacting the narrow widths on each side of the road is needed, and the acquisition of some 1 m wide vibrating rollers is recommended. In order to obtain a smooth riding surface it is necessary for each layer of embankment of pavement to be true to line and level. Even though most contractors favour the placement of material by hand labour, the spreading must be carried out by motor grader if a true finish of each layer is to be obtained. Not one such machine was seen by the mission, a situation which is reflected in the poor finish of the works visited. The mission recommends that the machines provided for under the project be bought without delay and if possible, others borrowed or hired from the Irrigation Department. contractors should also be urged to buy their own machines, but in the meantime, they should hire them from the PWD pool. After the machines are available, embankment or pavement work should not be accepted where longitudinal and lateral tolerances have not been met. Progress of the Works 3.3 Table 1 shows project status district by district. In brief, of the 1025 road sections totalling 4040 km identified for construction/reconstruction/improvement and estimated to cost Rs.1070 million, 60 contracts comprising 252 road sections (783 km) were awarded in 1987/88 at a cost of Rs.257 million, and 93 contracts comprising 299 road sections (1316 kms) are to be finalized in 1988/89 at a cost of Rs.326 million. Up to September 30, 1988 work to the value of Rs. 90.0 million had been completed and reimbursement of Rs. 39 million claimed for the Credit. 4. Equipment 4.1 The mission discussed the status of equipment procurement with PWD officials and stressed the need for prompt action in ensuring that the means of executing and supervising the work are secured with the least delay. 4.2 In particular it was agreed that ICB procedures be initiated by simUltaneous advertisement in Development Forum and the local press by December 31, 1988 at the latest for the purchase of:  Page 4 12 x 120 h.p. motor graders 10 x 8-10 ton self-propelled pneumatic rollers 20 x 10 ton rollers with interchangable sheepsfoot drum/vibrating drum 20 x pedestrian operated double drum vibrating rollers of 2 ton static weight plate vibrators for compaction of culvert fills. No further purchases of 10 ton flat rollers will be made. 4.3 In addition, all the remaining vehicles for project supervision, including mobile laboratories will be procured by direct order on the factories at DGS&D contract rates. Survey and quality control equipment for each supervisory team should comprise, as a minimum: 1 x level; 1 x theodolite; Measuring tapes; Compass; Ranging rods, staves, etc. Set of sieves; Weighing apparatus; Field density measuring equipment Speedy moisture tester; Camber board and straight-edge to IRC specifications This equipment should be purchased as soon as possible so that the field supervisors, with suitable transportation, have the tools to carry out their duties without dependance on the contractors' good will. 4.4 It was agreed that the purchase of stone crushers, bulldozers and front-end loaders should not be considered at this stage. 5. Land Acguisition 5.1 Of the 4040 km of road included in the project, about 990 km are to be newly constructed, for which an 18 m width of right-of-way needs to be acquired. For only some of the remaining length of project works for reconstruction/ improvement, a strip of land varying between 2 m and 10 m in width needs to be taken. In order that construction works are not to be held up because of acquisition problems, GOG proposes to hire 21 surveyors so that accurate measurements of the individuals' land areas affected can be measured. The estimate of cost for these individuals plus the needed support staff is estimated to cost GOG about Rs. 1.05 million annually. In addition a special land acquisition officer also with support staff, will be needed to process and finalize each land acquisition case under the collector  Page 5 in each of the three main districts of Sabarkantha, Banaskantha and Mehsana. The annual cost of the three teams is estimated at Rs. 2.1 million. GOG is making arrangements for both groups (survey teams and acquisition groups) to be set up without delay. The mission endorses these proposals. 6. Buildings 6.1 Although some buildings for the Rural Roads Project have been erected by petty contractors in existing PWD compounds, no claims for reimbursement under the Credit have been received so far, and GOG is urged to do so. The mission requested that a program for the construction of the needed office/storage space in each district be prepared for discussion with the next supervision mission so that arrangements with local contractors may be made to have the buildings erected. 7. Studies 7.1 The project provides for a monitoring system for civil works to be prepared by consultants. The contract for this work was entrusted to Messrs. ORG of Baroda, who have devised a computerized system which will enable project management to have a comprehensive report of each month's project status by the middle of the following month. 7.2 The format of an abstract of progress appropriate for the Bank's purposes was agreed with GOG and the consultant. It was further agreed that the reporting process would be fully operational by the time of the mission's next visit, scheduled for February 1989. 7.3 A second study by consultants focusses on road maintenance planning. Terms of Reference for this study have been agreed, and the mission discussed and agreed to GOG's shortlist of consulting firms which should be invited to submit proposals. The draft Letter of Invitation and Supplementary Information for Consultants have also been discussed and agreed and GOG is in the process of inviting proposals. 8. Training 8.1 To date, some short term courses in project specifications, survey and design, materials testing and quality control have been conducted at local training centres, with between 50 and 80 participants on each of the three courses. The courses on project management for senior and junior staff have not yet commenced, neither have the courses for mechanical engineers, mechanics and equipment operators. However, all are expected to be completed by the end of the 1989 monsoon.  Page 6 8.2 The project includes provision for some overseas training of professional staff, and initial arrangements had been made for some of the project's engineers to visit Australia where experience on low cost roads could provide valuable guidance to local staff. The mission recommends that these opportunities be taken without delay so that the experience gained may be put to use in the project. 9. Staffing 9.1 For satisfactory completion of the project according to the implementation program set forth in Schedule 2 of the Project Agreement, the personnel needed to man the field establishment, (1 CE, 4 SEs, 17 EEs, 68 DEs) should have been sanctioned promptly. However, less than half of this proposed establishment has been sanctioned (1 CE, 2 SEs, 9 EEs, 36 DEs) and more than 25% of the posts are vacant. Without adequate supervision the works cannot be executed properly. The mission therefore urges GOG to sanction and man all the field establishment posts needed for satisfactory project supervision so that the quality of the works is not jeopardised. 10. Design Specifications 10.1 During the visit, some field officers expressed doubts about the relevance of the design specifications adopted for the project to local conditions. The standard design provides for a 15 cm thick pure sand layer subbase and two 7.5 cm layers of WBM, the second of which is paver­ laid, followed by a semi-dense bituminous carpet. Because of the sand gradation, the layer is difficult to compact and frustrates the proper placement of the subsequent WBM layers. It is recommended that either the sand be mixed with murram, or it be replaced by hard murram. The pavers as used on site are unsuited to spreading the crushed material over the full pavement width and cover the irregularities of the underlying surface. Motor graders are better adapted to spreading the crushed material for WBM than the paver. Where there is no scope for diverting the traffic from the road, it would probably be preferable to consider the use of paver laid LBM or BM layers instead of the paver laid WBM as specified. As the major portion of the cost of construction is involved in the carriage of stone material over long distances (120-150 km), the mission suggests experimenting with alternative designs using locally available materials. RM:CSN:zp ZP.4jGURRR-AM.DOCj12-05-88  Annex 1 GUJARAT RURAL ROADS PROJECT List of Principal Officials Met Messrs. V.P. Kamdar, Secretary, R&B Department A.T. Doshi, Special Secretary and CE Roads R.J. Vyas, Chief Engineer, Rural Roads Project J.C. Trivedi, SE, RRP circle, Gandhinagar M.R. Jani, SE, RRP Circle, Rajkot Y.N. Shahiwala, SE, RRP Circle, Rajkot (in place of Mr. Jani) H.B. Patel, OSD, World Bank Cell V.V. Pandya, SE Mechanical V.R. Patel, SE Mechanical . '" Table 1 INDIA GUJARAT RURAL ROADS PROJECT Credit 1757-IN PROGRESS ON CIVIL WORKS FOR THE PERIOD (Rs.million) Total Physical Classi­ Civi t Works Pack- Jobs Len- fications of Rds. (Base Cost) ages gth NC RC IMP Nos. ~ ••.••• Kms .•••..• I. SAR Estimate 1 1025 4042 1031 988 2023 1067.00 II. A) PROGRAM AGREED BY GOG FY 87.88 266 812 389 279 144 318.31 FY 88.89 565 2124 606 599 920 737.74 FY 89.90 883 3492 916 885 1692 1186.54 FY 90.91 - 1025 4042 103 988 2023 1341.84 B) PROGRESS TO OCTOBER 31, 1988 Admn. approva t 552 2100 580 592 928 725.97 Packages ready for bidding" 63 261 820 351 268 184 318.08 Bids accepted 60 252 783 349 268 149 277 .48 Bidding in pro­ gress 3 9 37 2 35 9.32 C) PHYSICAL PROGRESS 22.37 D) FINANCIAL PROGRESS 89.88 E) BUDGET FY 88 129.45 *13 jobs totalling 28 km and costing Rs. 8.31 Mare deleted as works were completed prior to Credit approval. CSN:zp ZP.4/GRRR-TB1.DOC/12.05.88