Hi Friends,

Even as I launch this today ( my 80th Birthday ), I realize that there is yet so much to say and do. There is just no time to look back, no time to wonder,"Will anyone read these pages?"

With regards,
Hemen Parekh
27 June 2013

Now as I approach my 90th birthday ( 27 June 2023 ) , I invite you to visit my Digital Avatar ( www.hemenparekh.ai ) – and continue chatting with me , even when I am no more here physically

Monday, 7 July 2014

FW: Hi


Dear Friend ,

If you so desire , you may post on your web site my today's blog as follows :

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The   Invisible   Corruption

Why invisible  ?

Because it is cleverly camouflaged in the " Terms of Contract " that companies sign with Central Government / State Governments / Municipal Corporations / umpteen Government Agencies

This invisible corruption is rampant in Infrastructure Projects that get spread over months / years

And every possible trick / excuse ( officially called " Reasons " ) is used to ensure that these Projects get delayed as much as possible !

Examine carefully and you will find that the more a Project  gets delayed , the more that Contractor stands to gain ! Anyone believing otherwise , has got to be naive  !

How  ?

These contracts contain " Cost Escalation Clauses " which decide the extra / additional amounts payable to the Contractor , over and above the ( so called ) " Fixed Price " quoted at the time of tendering

Under these clauses , the Contractor is eligible to claim / demand extra payments , whenever

*  SOMETHING  HAPPENS

   - costs of certain " Inputs " go up above a certain agreed level , eg :

    #  Prices of Raw Materials
    #  Prices of Water / Gas / Electricity
    #  Cost of Labor
    #   Foreign Exchange Rate
    #   Consumer Price Index
    #   Interest Rate

    If any of these go up above certain agreed levels , the quoted price to go up by X/Y/Z amount , as per the Formula which determines the % age contribution of these elements , in the quoted price

*  SOMETHING  DOES  NOT  HAPPEN

   #  Environment Clearance for the Project
   #  Land acquisition and Handover to Contractor
   #  Hundreds of permissions from dozens of Govt Depts/Muni Corporations
   #  Issue of Import Licenses
   #  Release of Foreign Exchange
   #  Issue of NOC from umpteen departments
   #  Issue of Compliance Certificates from various departments
   #  Approval of Designs / Design Change Requests ( from Govt as well )
  

If any of these are NOT issued / given by certain " Dates "  ( very easily managed  !  ) , then the quoted price to go up by X / Y / Z  amount

Invariably , these clauses are heavily  tilted in favor of the Contractor

And equally invariably , colluding Government officers / bureaucrats / politicians , responsible for drafting / approving these " Clauses " , leave them vague !

This is apart from framing the Tender Specifications in such a manner that only a certain preferred bidder will qualify !

If you doubt what I have said , then just file a RTI application , asking for a copy of,

*  Original Tender Document
*  Final Contract
*  Number of Price Revision Requests received / granted

for any project of your choice  !

If Narendra Modi is keen to reduce corruption , he should start by instituting MODEL  INFRASTRUCTURE  PROJECT  CONTRACT , which clearly spells out what price / time revisions can be granted and when

At the same time , internally , there must be a provision for DEMOTION / PENALTY for those officers who fail to give permissions / approvals / NOC etc, on specified dates ( milestones for the project )


*  hemen  parekh 
 
    



----------------------------------------------

From: Hemen Parekh [mailto:hcp@recruitguru.com]
Sent: Friday, July 04, 2014 10:13 AM
To: 'Online News, India'
Subject: RE: Hi

Dear Sir / Madam


Many thanks for inviting me to write articles for the IndianPost

My age ( 81 ) and health , do not allow me to make any commitment which I cannot keep

I hope you will understand and excuse me

However , if you wish , you may pick-up my Blogs / Poems etc ( RSS Feed ) from my personal web site,......www.hemenparekh.in ..........and publish on your web site

In such a case , I hope you will credit those in my name and - if your policy permits - provide URL of my site

On your site , you write :

“We are driven by the belief that writing in the first person is more compelling than traditional journalism because it almost always requires the inclusion of personality.

I subscribe to your belief and you will find a proof of that in section " Letters to L&T Employees " on my site

Feel free to reproduce these as well , on your site. I believe , the attitude of co-operation , rather than confrontation , between labor and Management is as relevant today , as it was 30 years back , when I sent those letters to 7,500 employees of L&T

Thanking you once again,


( click to view my profile )

Mumbai







From: Online News, India [mailto:theindiapost@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, July 04, 2014 9:47 AM
To: Hemendra Parekh
Subject: Hi

Dear Hemendra Parekh,
Can you write informative articles for our readers, as you that we are publishing development news portal since 2008.
Regards

Regards
The India Post
www.theindiapost.com
(Development News of Indians)

Email Subscriptions Form



No comments:

Post a Comment