Indian Railway on February 5, 2018, first time introduced ‘the new policy of General Conditions of Contract for Services” (GCC).
What is GCC: It is a simplified, outcome focused GCC catering specifically to Services to improve contract management, delivery of services and to reduce government litigation.
Objectives: To define the terms & conditions for contractors engaged in service contracts for non-operational areas such as Housekeeping, Facilities Management, Consultancy etc., as distinct from Works.
Main features: The concepts of Digital Labour Management System, stepped Performance Guarantee in place of Security Deposit, access to liquidity as a qualifying criteria and specific provisions violation of which will lead to disqualification of bidders.
- The digital management labour system mandates contractor to maintain a data base of all workers including their attendance data and salary details.
- It also states that a contractor bidding for a service will be disqualified if penalty has been levied three times in last two years for violation of labour laws.
- Service contracts are characterized by regular requirement of funds; therefore, access to liquidity has been included as a qualifying criterion.
- Apart from labour laws, non-performance in previous contracts will also lead to bidders being disqualified in future. This is expected to put a premium on good performance.
Advantages: The new contract system will:
1. Ease the registration process for bidders,
2. Promote competitiveness,
3. Help Railways to save more on cost.
4. Will bring transparency & accountability in the system to make it more efficient and beneficial for the people.
Standard Bid Document (SBD): Indian Railways had recently issued Standard Bid Document (SBD) for Housekeeping. During the development of SBD, the need was felt for this service.
Background: A committee of Executive Directors of Railway Board was formed with a mandate for simplification and improvement of service contracts with a view to improve the quality of services and service contract management.
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- The recommendation of the Committee after approval of concerned directorates and approval of Railway Board was adopted as “The general conditions of contract for services on 02.01.2018”.
- The new GCC is a result of wide ranging consultations, profound erudition and of immensely valuable contribution of various directorates of Railway Board.
