Multiplicity of Agencies

Another typical characteristic of construction industry is the presence of multiple regulatory agencies controlling the constructional site. Every one of these regulatory agency is independent of other and often working at cross heads. Many Government, and Semi-government agencies like Panchayats, Municipal Committees, Corporations, Area Development Authorities, Urban and Rural Planning and Development Agencies, Town and Country Planning Boards, Mining Department, Forest Department, Safety Inspectors, Fire Department, Labour Department, Director of Industries, local Police and Administration, Sales Tax, Income Tax and Excise Department, various other Public Departments and similar never ending plethora of controlling authorities are required to issuing clearance certificates, controlling various aspects of construction at each project site. It is estimated that at a typical construction site, the construction manager is expected to deal with a minimum of twenty two different inspectors and fill at least two dozen different returns quarter yearly and to attend to the whims of large number of agencies. In fact, in India, the construction is most bogged down industry by red tape bureaucracy. 

It is not surprising therefore that Indian construction industry is one of the least productive and competitive industry in the country. The quality index is also poor following the Crosby's axiom, "More is the number of inspections, poorer will be the quality of product".