Central Public Works Department

The Central Public Works Department (CPWD, Hindi: केंद्रीय लोक निर्माण विभाग) is a department under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs of India and is in charge of public sector works. It serves as the builder, developer and manager of Central government properties. With time, its area of operations has also expanded to roadways and Bridge engineering.
It is headed by the Director General (DG), who is also the Principal Technical Advisor to the Government of India. The regions and sub-regions are headed by Special DGs and Additional DGs respectively, while the zones in all state capitals (except a few) are headed by the Chief Engineers. Nowadays, a Chief Project Manager (CPM) is also there to head major prestigious projects of CPWD. CPMs are equivalent to the rank of Chief Engineers in CPWD.The Chief Architect of CPWD also acts as chairman of local body to approve the Government Buildings. With country wide presence, the strength of CPWD is its ability to undertake construction of Complex Projects even in difficult terrains and maintenance in post construction stage.
CPWD consists of three wings in execution field – B&R (Buildings and Roads), E&M (Electrical and Mechanical) and horticulture.
Centralised public works in India can be traced to the efforts of Lord Dalhousie and Sir Arthur Cotton in the mid 19th century. Sir Arthur Cotton sumed up the early policy of the East India Company rulers thus,
Lord Dalhousie established the Central Public Works Department, and irrigation projects were among the earliest to be started.
Public Works Department was formally established in the year 1854 in the sixth year of Lord Dalhousie's tenure as Governor General. In the minutes of meeting held on 12 July 1854 the Governor General resolved that a central agency be provided by creating an office of Secretary to the Government of India in Department of Public Works. The note recorded by Lord Dalhousie was as under:
“The organization of the Department of Public Works in the Indian Empire will be incomplete unless it shall be provided for the Supreme Government itself come agency by which it may be enabled to exercise the universal control confided to it over public works in India with the best of scientific knowledge with authority and system. The Government of India shall no longer be dependent on expedients, but should be provided with a permanent and highly qualified agency to assist in the direction of this important branch of public affairs. I have, therefore, now to propose that such an agency should be provided by creating an office of the Secretary to Government of India in the Department of Public Works. The person who holds it should always be a highly qualified officer of the Corps of Engineers.”
Colonel W.E. Baker of the Bengal Engineers was accordingly appointed first Secretary to the Department of Public Works, this is the genesis of the Central Public Works Department. Sir Teja Singh Malik was the first Indian head of the CPWD.
CPWD has PAN India presence and has ability to undertake construction of complex projects even in difficult terrain and maintenance in post construction stage. In 1954, the CPWD played an important role in the International Exhibition on Low-Cost Housing held in New Delhi. The exhibition was sponsored by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, known as the Ministry of Works, Housing & Supply at the time. The CPWD put on display 12 full-scale models of cheap housing. The CPWD also adopted one of the housing designs created by Habib Rahman, who was Senior Architect in the CPWD, for the construction of quarters in New Delhi. CPWD had been involved in construction of stadiums and other infrastructure requirements for Asian Games 1982 and Commonwealth Games 2010.
Following are the core functions of CPWD
The Director General of CPWD functions as Technical Advisor to the Government of India and is consulted in various technical matters relating to construction and maintenance. The Ministry of External Affairs consults CPWD with regard to construction and maintenance of the Embassy buildings abroad. As Technical Advisor to the Government of India, the Director General of CPWD or his nominee is associated with technical bodies and / or Standing Committees of various Institutions and Organisations. Some of the important organizations are:
The recruitment as entry level for middle management is made through Engineering Services Examination (ESE)/ Architects Group 'A' Recruitment conducted by Union Public Service Commission. Only top candidates in ESE get a chance to join CPWD strictly on merit basis. During probation period, the selected candidates undergo rigorous training of 52 weeks at National CPWD Academy situated in Ghaziabad (U.P). which transforms them into competent Architects/Engineers cum bureaucrats. During the normal career progression one rises to Chief Architect/Engineer, then to Additional Director General and further to Special Director General. The apex level post in CPWD is of Director General, CPWD who also acts as technical advisor to the Government of India. Recently the Government of India has given the approval for creation of one more post of Director General (Planning). So from now onwards CPWD has two Director General Posts.
There are three cadres in CPWD:
1) CAS (Central Architects Services)
2) CES (Central Engineering Services) for Civil Engineers
3) CEMES (Central Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Services) for Mechanical & Electrical Engineers
These are Group A Civil Services. (List of all Group A Civil Services: Civil Services of India)
Upon confirmation of service, a CPWD (CES and CEMES) officer through Engineering Services Exam serves as an Assistant Executive Engineer for a period of 4 years which include 52 weeks of Foundation Training at the National CPWD Academy, Ghaziabad. After selection through UPSC recruitment exam for Group A post in CAS cadre, the officers serve as Deputy Architect in CPWD. After the completion of 4 years, the officers are promoted to the grade of Executive Engineer/Architect which is equivalent to the Under Secretary to Government of India.
National CPWD Academy is a Training Institute of Central Public Works Department (CPWD) which primarily focuses on the training needs of Group ‘A’ officers of CPWD via 52 weeks foundation course. Originally a training cell was set up in New Delhi in year 1965 for foundation training of Group ‘A’ officers. This training cell was developed into a full-fledged Training Institute at Ghaziabad which started functioning in 1995. The CPWD training Institute was renamed as National CPWD Academy in the year 2016.
The National CPWD Academy looks after the training needs of Engineers, Architects, Horticulturists all across the country. The main academy is located at Kamla Nehru Nagar, Hapur Road, Ghaziabad (U.P.). Regional Training Institutes are located in the four metros i.e. New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. The National CPWD Academy is located in Kamla Nehru Nagar, Ghaziabad nearly 6 km (3.7 mi). from Ghaziabad Railway Station, 30 km (19 mi). from New Delhi Railway Station and about 50 km (31 mi) from Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi.
The academy imparts training/refresher courses in all the aspects of public works. The academy conducts training programs, workshops, brain-storming sessions, seminars etc. to upgrade the techno-managerial skills of CPWD officers as well as officers of other Central Government Departments, State Governments and PSUs etc. The training programs are conducted in diverse streams such as Civil Engineering, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, Architecture, IT Applications and Management Techniques. A number of new courses on Green Buildings, their rating system and certification, energy efficient buildings, conservation of heritage buildings etc. have been introduced to cater to the current changing construction scenario.
To cater the training needs of Group B & C officials of the department, four Regional Training Institutes are functioning at following locations:
These institutes conduct training courses for Group B & C officials. Workers Training Centres at above locations are also part of Regional Training Institutes. Workers Training Centres impart skill improvement training to workers in various trades like mason, carpenter, plumber, Mali, electrician, wireman etc. (erstwhile Group D staff). The skill development courses for workers are also conducted in association with Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC). After completion of the training, certification of the workers is also done through IGNOU.
The various posts held by CPWD Gazetted Officers directly recruited through Engineering Services Examination/ UPSC Architects Group 'A' Recruitment is given in the table below.