Summary:
—
## **Context**
* The Ministry of Power (MoP) had earlier (27th Sept 2021) introduced a **“Dispute Avoidance Mechanism”** in construction contracts of CPSEs executing **hydro power projects**.
* The mechanism involves appointing an **Independent Engineer (IE)** to act as a neutral expert to prevent, address, and resolve disputes early.
* An amendment to this framework was issued on **16th June 2025**, which also invited **Expressions of Interest (EoI)** from eligible candidates for empanelment as IEs.
—
## **Approval**
* The **Competent Authority** has now approved a **Panel of Experts** who will serve as **Independent Engineers (IEs)**.
—
## **Panel of Independent Engineers (IEs)**
The approved panel consists of **20 experts**, mostly retired senior executives (Ex-EDs, CMDs, Directors) from CPSEs like **NHPC, NTPC, NEEPCO, THDC, and SJVN**.
### Key Members (with designation before retirement):
1. **B.B.N. Subudhi** – ED, NHPC
2. **Vivek Ranjan Srivastava** – ED, NHPC
3. **R.P. Sharma** – ED, NHPC
4. **Shyama Mukherjee Prasad** – ED, NHPC
5. **Prabhu Kumar Rawat** – ED, NHPC
6. **Sanjeev Kumar Yadav** – ED, NHPC
7. **Vijay Kumar Sinha** – ED, NHPC
8. **Mahendra Kumar Gupta** – ED, NHPC
9. **Dr. Deepak Saigal** – ED, NHPC
10. **Harsh Singh** – ED, NHPC
11. **Nirmal Singh** – ED, NHPC
12. **Raj Kumar Choudhary** – CMD, NHPC
13. **Ranendra Sarma** – Director, NEEPCO
14. **Avnish Srivastava** – ED, NTPC
15. **Harish Kumar Sharma** – ED, SJVN
16. **S.S. Adhikari** – ED, NEEPCO
17. **R.N. Singh** – ED, THDC
18. **Vipin Gupta** – ED, NHPC
19. **Naveen Chandra Bansal** – ED, SJVN
20. **Subhojit Chowdhury (Mullick)** – ED, NTPC
—
## **Guidelines for Selection**
* The **Independent Engineer** for a project may be chosen based on their **background and relevant experience**.
* All terms and conditions are governed by:
* MoP’s **O.M. dated 27.09.2021** (original framework)
* MoP’s **amendment dated 16.06.2025**
* The **EoI process notification (16.06.2025)**
—
## **Circulation**
* This memorandum has been circulated to:
* Offices of Hon’ble Minister of Power, MoS for Power
* Secretary (Power), Additional Secretaries, Joint Secretaries, and Directors in MoP
* Chairperson of **CEA** (Central Electricity Authority), Chairman of **CWC** (Central Water Commission)
* CMDs of all CPSEs under MoP executing hydro projects
—
For more information please see below link:
