Jaipur: Rajasthan’s Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) is facing a major administrative and financial deadlock after recent amendments to financial powers created confusion over who is authorised to approve time extensions and additional payments in ongoing mega infrastructure projects under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) and AMRUT schemes.
Internal discussions and finance committee records accessed by Expose Now reveal that senior PHED officials are now reluctant to take decisions on old project files, leading to delays in approvals, stalled payments, and growing uncertainty in project execution across the state.
The controversy has raised concerns that the regulatory ambiguity could ultimately benefit contractors while allowing officials to avoid accountability in delayed or cost-escalated projects.
Massive Expansion of Financial Powers in PHED
The issue traces back to orders issued by Rajasthan’s Finance Department on October 3 and October 31, 2025, under which the financial powers of PHED officials for approving tenders were significantly enhanced.
Under the revised framework:
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- Executive Engineers (EE) can now approve tenders up to ₹75 lakh, compared to the earlier limit of ₹30 lakh.
- Superintending Engineers (SE) received enhanced powers from ₹1.20 crore to ₹3 crore.
- Additional Chief Engineers (ACE) saw their limits rise from ₹2.50 crore to ₹7.50 crore.
- Chief Engineers (CE) can now approve tenders up to ₹15 crore instead of ₹5 crore.
- The Empowered Procurement Committee (EPC) received authority to approve projects up to ₹100 crore.
The revised powers were intended to accelerate approvals and improve project execution speed in large-scale drinking water and infrastructure schemes.
New Confusion Over Old Projects
While tender approval powers were expanded, confusion emerged regarding ongoing and previously sanctioned projects approved under the old financial structure.
The dispute revolves around the interpretation of:
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- Clause 23, which governs time extensions for projects.
- Clause 33, which deals with approval of extra items and additional payments up to 5% of project cost.
Both clauses specify that such approvals must be granted by the “Bid Sanctioning Authority” or a higher authority.
The key question now troubling PHED officials is whether projects originally approved by higher authorities under the old rules can now be handled by lower-level officers because the revised financial limits place those project values within their jurisdiction.
For example, if a project was originally approved by a Chief Engineer before the amendment, can a Superintending Engineer now approve its extension because the revised financial threshold permits it?
Officials Avoiding Decision-Making?
According to documents reviewed by Expose Now, the Chief Engineer (JJM) sought clarification on which authority should process delays, extension requests, and additional payment approvals in older contracts.
However, instead of issuing an internal interpretation or administrative decision, PHED’s Finance Committee reportedly decided to shift the matter to the Finance Department for clarification.
The committee reportedly stated that since the powers were amended by the Finance Department, the interpretation must also come from the same department.
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The decision effectively means that numerous files involving project delays, contractor claims, and extension approvals may now remain pending until formal clarification is issued.
Impact on Jal Jeevan Mission and AMRUT Projects
The deadlock comes at a critical time when hundreds of JJM and AMRUT projects across Rajasthan are already facing delays due to land disputes, contractor performance issues, funding gaps, and administrative bottlenecks.
Officials and experts fear that the lack of clarity could further slow down:
- Time extension approvals.
- Extra item sanctions.
- Contractor payment clearances.
- Penalty proceedings against delayed works.
The uncertainty may also weaken the department’s ability to impose penalties on non-performing contractors, as officials could hesitate to take decisions amid jurisdictional confusion.
Questions Over Accountability and Governance
The controversy has triggered several larger governance concerns:
- Why were the revised financial powers implemented without issuing detailed operational guidelines for ongoing projects?
- Are officials using the ambiguity to avoid responsibility in controversial projects?
- Will contractors benefit from delays in decision-making and absence of penalty enforcement?
- How long will public infrastructure projects remain stuck due to inter-departmental confusion?
Observers argue that while enhanced financial powers were introduced to improve efficiency, the absence of clear transitional provisions has instead created administrative paralysis.
Finance Department Clarification Awaited
The PHED Finance Committee has now formally decided that the matter will be referred to the Finance Department through the administrative department for detailed clarification.
Until such clarification is issued, many pending files involving time extensions and additional payments may continue to remain unresolved.
The situation highlights deeper structural issues within Rajasthan’s infrastructure governance system, where large-scale projects involving thousands of crores continue to face delays not only due to technical challenges, but also because of regulatory ambiguity and bureaucratic indecision.