Union Govt undertakes overhaul of CPWD first time in 14 years

In an ambitious move to elevate infrastructure development, the Union Government is undertaking an overhaul of its prime construction agency—the Central Public Works Department (CPWD)—for the first time in 14 years. The initiative focuses on bringing in specialized engineers to handle complex construction projects.

The move is aimed at injecting new talent, modernizing, and address staffing shortages in the CPWD in order to address the growing demands of modern, large-scale infrastructure projects, such as the Kartavya Bhawan, with a portfolio now exceeding ₹25,000 crore annually. However, it does not have enough engineers to undertake its activities within Delhi and across states.

Further, with new buildings like Kartavya Bhawans and the Prime Minister’s residential complex coming up, there is a need for more engineers with different expertise to be brought into the government.

This makeover has been prompted by the need for expertise in constructing and maintaining modern, high-profile government buildings.

There are about 18,000 employees in CPWD under three major verticals—civil (which includes electrical and mechanical streams), architecture, and horticulture. About two-thirds of the employees are in the civil vertical. As a govt official pointed out, there is a need for architectural and design engineers as well as an emphasis on designing structurally sound, seismically proof, energy-efficient buildings. According to him, more design engineers are now needed.

Besides, the new construction activity in the capital has also brought out the biggest gap in CPWD – a shortage of engineers in lower to mid-level positions.

Restructuring and cadre review are among the key aspects of this overhaul. 

A cadre review should generally be undertaken every five years. However, the last cadre review in CPWD took place in 2012. After this, there was a restructuring exercise in 2019 when a consultancy firm was hired to gauge the gaps. According to sources, this restructuring exercise did not help CPWD with several gaps recurring.

The move is expected to improve accountability, speed, and transparency in project execution.

This overhaul follows earlier recommendations to focus on core construction and potentially outsource maintenance, as well as efforts to modernize technology and procedures.