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from the president
About Engineers Bill
Author: Mr. Mahendra Raj, President, IAStructE
Many of you must have read a write-up under the title “Like CAs, engineers may have to register” published in the Times of India, Delhi on 01 December 2009. It says -
“HRD Ministry has mooted the Engineers Bill, 2009, that stipulates mandatory registration/certification of professional engineers. The Bill also proposes setting up the Indian Council of Engineers that will maintain a national and international register of professional engineers and associate professional engineers and will regulate the engineering profession.
Prepared by HRD Ministry’s Technical Bureau, the Cabinet note for the Bill is being circulated for inter-ministerial consultation. The Cabinet note says regulating engineers will lead to public accountability and innovation in the profession. It claims that creating such a register will help Indian engineers globally and create certified quality standards. An official said, “It is not fair to say that all engineers come out with same kind of capability. There are many engineering colleges churning out poor quality engineers.”
Some of you might also have read the write-up in the 17 January 2010 issue of the Deccan Chronicle under the title “Engineers may soon need license under HRD law”. It says -
In an effort to regulate the engineering profession and provide licenses to practicing engineers, the Union Human Resource Development Ministry has prepared a Bill to set up a Council of Engineers.
The Ministry aims to set up the Council, which will have statutory status, for the presently unregulated sector in the country.
Official sources stated the Bill which had been sent for inter-ministry discussions is soon likely to be put before the Union Cabinet for its approval.
Students passing out from government and private engineering institutions will have to get registered with the proposed Council for practicing as engineers.
The importance of the proposed body can be gauged from the fact that the country produces approximately five lakh engineering graduates every year.
Official sources stated that the HRD Ministry has proposed a status similar to that of Bar Council of India and ICWAI which are performing regulatory functions for lawyers and Chartered Accountants in the country, respectively.
The Bill, part of the HRD Minister, Mr Kapil Sibal's education reform process, is expected to be introduced in Parliament during the forthcoming Budget Session. Sources stated the Council will function as a regulatory body for engineers.
“The Council has been proposed with an aim to streamline the quality of engineers in the country. The proposed body will also maintain a database of engineers in the country," sources stated.
The Council has been proposed after the HRD Ministry received request of various. engineering associations for regulation of the profession. Though the proposal to regulate the engineering profession had first been mooted in mid-1990s, so far, no law had been proposed for their regulation.
These are perhaps those rare occasions when Engineers received some media coverage. This also calls for a review of the progress made (at snails pace) by the Engineers Bill after painstaking efforts of about a quarter of a Century.
It was way back in 1970 that the Barve Committee set up by the Planning Commission had identified the need to fulfill the two essential requirements - Statutory Recognition of the Profession of Engineering and Registration of Engineers for proper growth and development of the Engineering profession in the country.
Without statutory recognition backed by an Act of the Parliament, the Engineering Profession does not have a legal status. Without statutory registration of engineers the Government does not fully discharge its responsibility to safeguard the society from hazards of unsafe and improperly engineered facilities.
In order to meet these essential requirements, the Association of Consulting Engineers (India), ACE(I), prepared draft of an Engineers Bill and approached Shri Raj Mangal Pandey, the then Minister of HRD, with the request to get it enacted. The Minister instructed his Ministry to examine it.
Under instructions of the HRD Ministry, Dr S A A Alvi, Additional Secretary of AICTE started processing the Bill, and had several meetings with representatives of ACE(I). Later, this task was taken up by Dr S D Awale, Joint Education Adviser of HRD Ministry who also had a series of meetings with ACE(I). Both Dr Alvi and Dr Awale were convinced of the necessity of such a legislation, but did not make any definite recommendation.
Finally, out of desperation, ACE(I) filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Delhi High Court on 10th December 1996 against HRD Ministry for enactment of the Bill.
After a number of hearings, HRD Ministry acknowledged the urgent need for such legislation but stated that before initiating action; the Ministry would like to have a consensus of all the professional engineering associations on this issue. This consensus was finally arrived at later in the year 2000, when 24 engineering associations, including IE(I), met and unanimously decided to form Engineering Council of India (ECI) with the specific objective of “Registration of Professional Engineers and Consulting Engineers”, and initiation of the process of enactment of the Engineers Bill. ECI was formed on 04 April 2002.
In May 2003, a new Engineers Bill was drafted by ECI. It was circulated to all member associations and their consent was obtained. After approval by all member associations this Bill was submitted to the HRD Ministry in 2004.
Subsequently, IE(I) dissociated itself from this Bill, withdrew from membership of ECI and submitted its own draft Engineers Bill to HRD Ministry. The Ministry thereafter appointed a committee under Mr D P Agrawal to evolve a consensus draft. In 2005-2006, another committee under Mr R V Shahi was constituted to resolve the issue with IE(I) and evolve a final consensus draft. During April-September 2007 a number of meetings of this committee were held. Ultimately, On 12 September 2007, final Consensus Draft Bill was ready for processing by the HRD Ministry.
ECI has been following it up since then with the Ministry. It is understood that the draft Cabinet Note has been circulated by the HRD Ministry to other concerned Ministries. After Cabinet approval, the Bill will be placed before the Parliament. The indications are that after consistent and persistent efforts of over 25 years, the Engineers Bill may be enacted in the near future. The entire Engineering fraternity anxiously looks forward to its enactment.
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