Extra Item Bill Without a Revised Estimate
A sub-division has a sanctioned estimate of ₹62.00 lakh for rehabilitating a minor irrigation tank. The tender was accepted at 8% below the estimated cost. During execution, 420 m³ of excavation in hard rock was encountered in the waste-weir channel, an item not provided in the estimate. The contractor has submitted a rate of ₹1,850 per m³, amounting to ₹7.77 lakh. The work is complete except for this item and the financial year closes in ten days. The assistant engineer instructs the junior engineer to record the quantity in the measurement book and to pass the bill immediately so that the budget grant is not lapsed, saying that the excess is ‘only about 12%’ and can be regularised later. The contractor has orally agreed to start another urgent canal repair only if this bill is paid. The junior engineer has the site measurement sheets and photographs but no approved rate analysis or revised estimate.
1. What entries should the JE make in the measurement book, and what should the JE refuse to do? Give reasons.
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The JE should record only the facts actually measured: 420 m³ of hard-rock excavation, with location, chainage, levels, dates, sketch and photographs, and signatures of the JE and contractor. The contractor's claimed rate may be noted as ‘claimed rate, subject to approval’, or left pending, but it must not be shown as an approved rate. The JE must refuse to certify the bill for payment or to recommend it for payment without a sanctioned rate and revised estimate. The measurement book is a factual record of work done; it is not a financial sanction. Backdating entries or showing the item as covered by the original estimate would be falsification. Payment without sanction would be an unauthorised expenditure and would expose the JE personally.
2. Outline the correct approval route for the extra item and test whether the AE's claim that it is ‘only 12%’ is relevant.
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The correct route is: submit a factual report with measurement sheets, photographs and site records to the assistant engineer; the AE should prepare a rate analysis for the extra item and a revised estimate; the competent authority must grant technical sanction, and administrative approval must be amended if required. If the amount exceeds the AE's delegated powers, it must go to the executive engineer or higher authority under the applicable works manual and delegation rules.
The ‘only 12%’ argument is not a valid defence. First, 12% exceeds the usual 10% variation limit for many works. Second, and more importantly, this is a new item not in the estimate, so it needs its own rate analysis and sanction; it is not merely a quantity variation. ‘Regularise later’ is not a lawful basis for payment. Budget lapse is also not a reason to bypass sanction.
3. How should the JE handle the contractor's pressure and the year-end deadline?
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The JE should reply in writing, not orally, that the quantity has been recorded but the rate and bill require sanction. The contractor's threat to delay another repair should be reported to the AE and, if pressure continues, to the executive engineer. The JE should request the AE in writing to process the revised estimate immediately and should keep copies of all correspondence. If the other canal repair is genuinely urgent, it should be processed separately as an emergency repair with its own sanction, not financed by an unauthorised bill. The year-end deadline does not override financial rules. The JE should not sign the bill, should not backdate records, and should preserve the measurement sheets and photographs as evidence of the actual work.