On the day Central Public Works Department (CPWD) completed 160 years of service, President Pranab Mukherjee today praised the principal engineering organisation for its contribution while asking it to become "smarter and more dynamic" to withstand competition.
In his inaugural address at the 160th Annual Day celebrations of CPWD here, Mukherjee asked the construction major to evolve into "a smarter, more dynamic and highly professional organisation" by benchmarking itself with the best in the world.
"The construction sector is marked by dynamism in terms of concepts, techniques and efficiency parameters. Any modern organisation operating in this evolving field can ill-afford to ignore the latest developments taking place," he said.
Recalling the contribution of CPWD, Mukherjee asked the organisation to be "alive to emerging challenges".
Stating that 'it is understandable that old organisations are often burdened with out-dated practises', the President urged CPWD to "focus on areas where innovation and modernisation in the infrastructure sector can lead to accelerated economic development".
"It is for CPWD to adopt state-of-the-art procedures for maintenance of assets. The challenge is therefore to become vibrant and enterprising and respond quickly to the changing external environment," he said.
He further suggested that CPWD should look at providing last-mile connectivity of rural roads, health and educational infrastructure, water supply and sanitation.
Referring to sustainable habitats as the need of the hour and energy-efficient building as an important strategy for sustainable urban development, the President asked CPWD to 'adopt innovative designs and practises for construction'.
While complimenting CPWD for undertaking challengingassignments in the Rann of Kutch, Thar desert, in high altitude areas of the Himalayas, North-Eastern Region and also in Afghanistan, the President said: "I personally have had the opportunity to observe the efforts of the CPWD team in executing various projects at the Rashtrapati Bhawan."
He further said, "CPWD should build enough capacity within the organisation to use latest technology in implementing green building projects. At the same time it should also pay heed to the aesthetics of these new buildings."
Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, who also attended 160th Annual Day celebrations, said "after a long and eventful journey of 160 years, CPWD should introspect for charting its way ahead."
Naidu, who recently inspected the maintenance of Nirman Bhawan, said he was "disappointed at the environment of premises".
"It should be properly maintained as maintenance is an important work," he said.
He asked CPWD to focus on facilitating "an enabling working environment which has a bearing on work efficiency".
Naidu said CPWD's objective should be 3 Cs (Conceptualise, Compete and Complete in time) through a strategy of 3 S (Skill, Scale and Speed).
Naidu felicitated former DG of CPWD, G.S Tawarmalani with the 'life Time Achievement Award' for his distinguished contribution to various facets of CPWD.
Few others were felicitated with 'Director General's Medals' and 'Certificates of Appreciation' for their contribution to the organisation.