Bengaluru, 26 September

The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) will overhaul the processing of contractor bills to make payments faster, time-bound and transparent, Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said on Saturday, while announcing plans to set up a dashboard where citizens can track progress of public works like road repairs. 

The reforms will apply uniformly to works funded through Government grants as well as those funded from the Corporations’ own resources, a press release stated. 

The system seeks to replace multiple layers of manual processing with a streamlined, digital and time-bound system, with clear responsibility at every stage and greater transparency in the movement of bills in a bid to ensure that contractors are paid on time and that public works are no longer delayed. 

The reforms will apply to works funded through government grants as well as the five City Corporations’ own resources. Bills will be processed through the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS), with fewer approval levels and defined timelines at each stage.

Field engineers will have seven days to verify and certify bills. If an officer or agency fails to act within the prescribed period, the bill will be deemed approved and moved to the next level. Bills can be withheld or rejected only with reasons recorded in the system.

Payments to contractors will be credited directly to their registered bank accounts through IFMS using OTP-based authentication, eliminating manual RTGS transactions altogether, the release stated. 

Further, the IFMS will serve as a single integrated system and tracking platform— from award and execution to bill processing and final payment.

The name of the Engineer in charge and the Contractor responsible for every work will be displayed at the worksite and officially recorded. A public dashboard will also be launched, enabling citizens to track the real-time status of ongoing and completed public works undertaken by the Corporations.

The name of the Engineer in charge and the Contractor responsible for every work will be displayed at the worksite and officially recorded. A public dashboard will also be launched, enabling citizens to track the real-time status of ongoing and completed public works undertaken by the Corporations, the release added.