Prime Contractors: Cover Letter & Checklist: Fill & Download for Free

Let’s take an example.In a standard construction contract, it’s unlikely that you will be paid up front for anything. Usually, you get “progress payments” - so much when you complete a third of the job, a little more for another third, and the rest when the job is substantially complete.However, on a large project, there will be only one contract with a “prime contractor” or “general contractor” who has to finish the whole shebang. They will do some of the work themselves, but they will hire a structural contractor, mechanical contractor, and an electrical contractor do to these phases of the work. Those contractors will also hire sub-contractors to perform specific phases. For example, the mechanical contractor will hire Heating/Ventilating contractors to install heaters, air conditioners and ducts, plumbing contractors, and insulation contractors. They may also hire their own sub trades.So let’s call our project the “Dump Casino”. Mr. Dump hires an architect to design the casino, to tender out the construction package and to administer all the other contracts. Mr. Dump’s company, “The Dump Group” only has a contract with the architect and the prime contractor. The sub-contractors have a contract with the prime contractor. The other trades have contracts with the sub-contractors.All is well and good. Let’s say the project goes fairly smoothly. But let’s also say that Mr. Dump is as crooked as a dog’s hind leg. So, now with all the contracts signed, how does he muscle everyone into accepting a fraction of what they’re owed.Mr. Dump starts asking for more than what’s in the contract. Let’s call these “frills”, such as a nicer finish for the walls (mahogany instead of pine). All the signatories to these lucrative contracts are now frantically working on these “extras”.In any normal construction contract, there will be other extras.The contract calls for a strict process for adding extras, either the ones requested by the owner or ones needed by the contractors. Mr. Dump is slow to sign off on the necessary paperwork, but assures the architect and prime contractor that they should just continue the work.These extras start to pile up and the paperwork isn’t done. All of a sudden, Mr. Dump starts complaining about the costs of these extras. Now he starts asking for “cost savings”. This is normal in any construction project once costs start to escalate. The contractors suggest some possibilities, but these require change orders too and, as usual, Mr. Dump is slow to sign off.The contractors are still working hard but are now starting to get worried about paying for the extras. They contact their lawyers who tell them that maybe they should stop until the paperwork is signed. The contractors pass this information to the architect.Now the architect starts to get worried. On a project of this size, time is everything and critical paths have to be completed in order to get work done on time. Contractors who are delayed by the delays caused by other contractors might claim compensation. The architect tells this to Mr. Dump.Mr. Dump is, of course, furious that the contractors don’t trust him. He reminds them that the contract also contains clauses that hold the contractors responsible for delays on the project that cost him money. He threatens to sue any contractor who walks off the job.Finally, some of the work reaches the first payment date. The architect signs off on the payment to the prime contractor, but to no-one’s surprise, payment is not forthcoming. Mr. Dump is upset about the quality of some of the work and demands a discount.The prime contractor, subs and trades really start getting worried. Their lawyers really get involved and threaten to lien the building.But Mr. Dump’s lawyers are ready for them. They INVITE the lien claim and say they will counterclaim for poor workmanship. Until the matter is settled, they won’t pay. Meanwhile, the project keeps moving forward and no-one is getting paid. The project is heavily leveraged and a half-finished building won’t cover the construction costs to date. At this point, the payments to the subs and trades are really out of the control of the architect and prime contractor, who aren’t getting paid either.Finally, Mr. Dump generously offers the lien holders 50% of the money owed to them. Settlement documents are signed.Except Mr. Dump doesn’t pay. More angry letters. Eventually, he offers about a third of the original amount on a “take it or leave it” basis. The contractors, facing massive legal bills and still having their own bills to pay, take the money.

Whistleblower said don’t name me. Govt did. He was shot dead[1][1][1][1]Satyendra DubeyWhy I consider Satyendra Dubey to be underrated is because of the circumstances in which he lived as a child and how even after that he chose betterment of the society over money.He is as great a inspiration as Bhagat singh. He died at the age of 31 fighting a corrupt system a part of which he could have become and lived a prosperous life.But he fought alone against the whole system and lost his life in the process.His steadfast and strong belief in his ideals , which remained strong in the face of all odds and obstacles is what inspires me.But when i talk to my friends about him in most cases i find a blank face staring at me and that makes me sad.His life:Until the age of 15 he studied at the Gang Baksh Kanodiya High School in Sahpur and then joined junior college at Allahabad, about three hundred kilometers away.He was admitted to the Civil Engineering Department of IIT Kanpur in 1990, graduated in 1994.Subsequently, he did his M. Tech (Civil Engg.) from Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, and Varanasi in 1996.He was selected for the Indian Engineering Service (IES) in 1996, India's top engineering bureaucracy and joined ministry of surface transport.While at the ministry, he once called the police when offered a bribeIn July 2002, he was employed by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).Dubey became the Assistant Project Manager at Koderma, Jharkhand, responsible for managing a part of the Aurangabad-Barachatti section of National Highway 2 (The Grand Trunk Road).This highway was part of the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) Corridor Project, the Prime Minister's initiative, which aimed to connect many of the country major cities by four-lane limited-access highways totaling 14,000 km, at an overall cost more than USD 10 billion.During this period, Dubey got the contractor of the project to suspend three of his engineers after exposing serious financial irregularities.At one point, he had the contractor rebuild six kilometers of under-quality road, a huge loss for the road contract mafia.On November 27, 2003, Dubey was returning from a wedding in Varanasi, and called his driver to meet him at the station.He reached Gaya railway station at three in the morning, and found that the car was not able to come because of a battery malfunction.It appears that at this point Dubey decided to take a rickshaw home.When he did not reach home, his driver went to look for him and found him dead by the side of the road in the suburb of A.P. Colony.He had been shot.The letter:On November 11, 2002, the Prime Minister’s Office received his letter addressed to the Prime Minister himself.And then highlighted several instances of what he called ‘‘loot of public money’’ and ‘‘poor implementation.’’Dubey requested his name be kept secret but at the same time, he let his identity known. He had reason to.‘‘Since such letters from a common man,’’ Dubey wrote, ‘‘are not usually treated with due seriousness, I wish to clarify... that this letter is being written after careful thought by a very concerned citizen who is also very closely linked with the project. I request you to kindly go through my brief particulars (attached to a separate sheet to ensure secrecy) before proceeding further.’’Just the opposite happened.Dubey’s letter is riddled with signatures and scribbles of officials indicating it was a classic case of a file going into babudom’s endless orbit.• In 10 days, the PMO fowarded Dubey’s complaint to his parent Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. (MoRTH). Dubey’s request for anonymity was apparently ignored by the PMO.•Along with the attachment, his letter was sent to the MoRTH. Eight Ministry officials went through the letter.• And on December 4, 2002, Dubey’s letter was sent to the National Highway Authority of India with a copy to NHAI’s Chief Vigilance Officer. And a covering letter from an official: ‘‘I am directed to forward herewith an unsigned letter on the above subject (National Highways Development Project complaint regarding loot of public money) for such action as deemed fit.’’• On November 27, Dubey was shot dead in Gaya when he was returning from Varanasi. According to the FIR filed at the Rampur police station in Gaya by Dubey’s brother, the people whose corruption he exposed were behind the murder.Footnotes[1] http://suchetadalal.com/?id=8d491823-9be5-ad8b-492e8b730c0a&base=sections&f&t=Death+of+a+Whistleblower%3A+The+Satyendra+Dubey+Story[1] http://suchetadalal.com/?id=8d491823-9be5-ad8b-492e8b730c0a&base=sections&f&t=Death+of+a+Whistleblower%3A+The+Satyendra+Dubey+Story[1] http://suchetadalal.com/?id=8d491823-9be5-ad8b-492e8b730c0a&base=sections&f&t=Death+of+a+Whistleblower%3A+The+Satyendra+Dubey+Story[1] http://suchetadalal.com/?id=8d491823-9be5-ad8b-492e8b730c0a&base=sections&f&t=Death+of+a+Whistleblower%3A+The+Satyendra+Dubey+Story

Oh yes! Absolutely. Always remember, the Chanakya neeti - Straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first. Let me give you some real life examples that will melt your heart. Embrace for an emotional journey of honesty. I will keep it short and simple as I wish to cover many such heroes here.Satyendra Dubey:An Indian Engineering Service officer, he was working with the National Highway Authority of India when he found huge discrepancies in the Golden Quadrilateral Project. Born into an agricultural family, Mr. Dubey was an exceptional student and he completed his Engineering from IIT- Kanpur and M-Tech from Benaras Hindu University. Later he joined the Indian Engineering Service in the capacity of a civil engineer and was working for the NHAI. The central government's Golden Quadrilateral was a dream project connecting India's four major cities with each other, thus improving overall connectivity.A huge aspiring project under the Atal B Vajpayee government, the project was fulfill of discrepancies and corruption with the nexus of political babus, local goons, bureaucrats was the order of the day. Mr. Dubey reprimanded the contractor in his area and asked him to suspend three engineers along with rebuilding a six kilometer poorly built road stretch. This did not go well with the babus and Mr. Dubey was transferred.His next posting was in Gaya, Bihar. He wrote a letter to the PMO addressing all the issues and giving his report in detail. He asked for the PMO's office to keep his identity a secret but he did attach his biodata. The PMO without listening to his concerns forwarded the letter to the Ministry of Roads and Highways where it stay for months exposing the letter and Mr. Dubey's identity to many people.The local contractors came to know of the same. In 2003, one day after Mr. Dubey was returning from a Wedding at Varanasi, he was brutally murdered.In 2010, three petty thieves were sentenced for Mr. Dubey's murder and his family vehemently opposed it as they know that these petty criminals are innocent and the real culprits are still at large.This man, Mr. Satyendra Dubey died for all of us, trying to save our hard earned money. He was honest and he paid the price.Ashok Khemka:Meet the man transferred 53 times in 28 years for his honesty. A Haryana cadre IAS officer, Mr. Ashok Khemka is the torch bearer of integrity, honesty and bureaucracy in the very right sense.The nation knew about this honest man when he cancelled the mutation of Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra's illegal land deal in Gurgaon.He put forward as to what really transpired and how dirt cheap the politicians were alloting lands to their eye candy candidates.Mr. Khemka did not tow the seniors requests to collect funds for personal purposes, nor listen to the babus to fulfill their money lust. He was honest and answerable to the public and maintained that. The result - Humiliation and transfer after transfer.Manjunath ShanmugamThis IIM graduate exposed the petrol mafia in Uttar Pradesh who were mixing kerosene in petrol and we're blatantly selling the same in petrol pumps.He was shot dead at the tender age of 27. He died because he refused to overlook what others just let go. He refused to sleep with the devil. He stood up for us.The IIM Lucknow graduate from Karnataka paid with his life on Saturday afternoon for his crusade against corrupt petrol pump owners in Sitapur, about 50 km from Lucknow.Manjunathan, posted at nearby Lakhimpur-Kheri, had become a “[1][1][1][1] nightmare” for Sitapur’s petrol outlets, always dropping in for surprise checks as part of his company’s campaign against adulteration, sources said.A month ago, he had sealed the Manu Mittal petrol station in Gola on Sitapur Road and blacklisted several others. On Saturday, someone tipped him off that Manu Mittal had resumed selling on the sly. Police suspect it could have been a trap.The murder would have been pre-planned, for the killers seemed to be waiting for him and recognised the young sales manager as soon as he stepped in, though he had parked his car a little away, probably because he was on a “surprise” inspection.The killers also had a car waiting. They quickly hauled the blood-splattered body into it and sped off.“They clearly planned to dump the body at a place where we wouldn’t have found it for days,” Sitapur superintendent of police Aloke Kumar said. “Fortunately, a police patrol got suspicious and ordered the car to stop. They found the body.”The two persons in the car -- Vivek Sharma, a relative of the pump owner, and Rakesh Kumar, an employee -- have been arrested. The pump owner seems to have fled the town.The police believe that several petrol outlet owners had plotted together to kill Manjunathan.Since the news of the murder reached the young man’s home in Kolar, Karnataka, on Sunday, his mother has been fainting off and on. The body arrived this afternoon after a post-mortem.Manjunathan, from IIM Lucknow’s 2002 batch, had fallen in love with the Uttar Pradesh capital and had opted for a posting in the Lucknow circle, colleagues said.He was selected in the campus interview and was one of IOC’s brightest managers, said Dilip Kumar, personnel manager, Lucknow. “We lost one from our cream.”“Manjunathan had all the right instincts as a manager. He was brave, uncompromising and a warm friend,” recalled batchmate Garima in Delhi.In Lucknow, IOC employees simmered in anger. “We are shocked and are feeling insecure,” Dilip said.Company staff across Uttar Pradesh initially threatened a strike but later decided to wait for a few days after meeting the state police chief.The oil giant’s Delhi office has apparently sent a message to state home secretary Aloke Sinha.Adulteration of oil -- especially diesel ? at petrol pumps is a longstanding problem across the country. Diesel is mixed with kerosene, which is subsidised for the poor.Manjunathan’s murder comes almost exactly two years after another young man, IIT Kanpur graduate Satyendra Dubey, was murdered after writing to then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee about corruption in the Rs 55,000-crore Golden Quadrilateral Project.This is an ode to all the unsung heroes, some killed, some tortured, some shown living hell on earth, some humiliated, ALL FOR BEING HONEST AND DOING THEIR DUTYThank You @Sonu Gulale for suggesting the edits.Footnotes[1] Oil crusader gunned down - IOC employee & IIM graduate dies stopping adulteration[1] Oil crusader gunned down - IOC employee & IIM graduate dies stopping adulteration[1] Oil crusader gunned down - IOC employee & IIM graduate dies stopping adulteration[1] Oil crusader gunned down - IOC employee & IIM graduate dies stopping adulteration