Peer Review of DPRs by Engaging Retired Government Officers to Enhance Project Quality: Railway Board Order

Peer Review of DPRs by Engaging Retired Government Officers to Enhance Project Quality. Indian Railways mandates vide Order dated 13.01.2026 peer review of Detailed Project Reports by empanelled retired IRSE officers to minimize time/cost overruns. Sector experts (below 75 years, SAG level) will scrutinize technical feasibility, cost estimates, and site conditions for high-quality DPRs, ensuring robust project foundations through independent oversight.

भारत सरकार/Government of India
रेल मंत्रालय/Ministry of Railways
(रेलवे बोर्ड/Railway Board)

2025/W- I/Genl./Peer Review of DPR (E- 3508081)

Dated: 13.01.2026

The General Managers,
All Indian Railways.

Sub: Peer Review of DPRs by engaging retired government officers – reg.

Ref: Railway Board letter no. 2022/W- I/Genl/DPR proforma(E- 3404238) dt. 13.12.2023 and 30.10.2024;

Indian Railways mainly depends on the services of consultants for conducting Final Location Survey and preparation of Detailed Project Report as to form the basis of taking up a work. The general guidelines for preparation of DPRs have been issued vide letter under reference above.

While the focus is on optimizing the cost of construction without compromising the quality, any gaps at the DPR stage may adversely affect change of scope/cost and construction schedule which is observed several time in ongoing projects.

Despite the detailed guidelines, it has been noticed that there is a scope of further improving the DPRs. As such it has been felt that a peer review of each DPR needs to be carried out by Sector expert’ so as to ensure that the DPRs are made of high quality as well to reduce time and cost overrun. The procedure for ‘Engagement of Sector Expert’ and activities to be carried out during peer review are annexed. The qualification and service etc may be suitably modified in case of the DPRs of PHs other than PH- 11- 15.

On a pilot basis, each Zonal Railways should select 03 projects to conduct Peer Review as per the policy. The outcome should be advised to Board within 6 months with respect to its practicability and achievement of desired outcome alongwith suggestions for improvement.

This is issued with approval of Board(MI, MF and CRB).

Annexure- I- Procedure of engagement of Sector Expert(s).
Annexure- II- Activities to be carried out during Peer Review & remuneration thereof.

(Abhishek Jagawat)
Director/GS (Civil)-II
Railway Board

Annexure- I

Procedure of engagement of Sector Expert(s)

1. Eligibility

   1. Age not more than 75 years.
   2. Minimum qualification should be BE/B.Tech in Civil Engineering.
   3. Should be an Indian Railway Service of Engineers (IRSE) officer retired from the Senior Administrative Grade (SAG) or higher post.
   4. Must have a minimum of 5 years’ experience in project execution/planning in the railway infrastructure sector at SAG level or higher post.
   5. The expert should not have any conflict of interest with the DPR consultant, project proponent, or associated contractors.

2. Empanelment Process

   1. A public notice for empanelment of sector experts shall be issued by the respective Zonal Railway through its official website or through notices in newspapers. This notification shall be issued on an annual basis.
   2. A minimum period of 15 days will be provided for submission of applications.
   3. Applicants must submit their detailed CV/Bio-data and a prescribed application form within the stipulated time.
   4. Applications will be scrutinized by an Empanelment Committee comprising: CAO/Construction – Convener, FA & CAO(C) or PFA(Construction), Principal Chief Engineer (PCE)
   5. The Empanelment Committee shall ensure that shortlisted candidates fulfill all eligibility conditions and possess domain-specific expertise for infrastructure DPRs.
   6. Recommendations of the Empanelment Committee shall be forwarded to the General Manager (GM) for final approval.
   7. The Zonal Railway shall ensure that candidates are screened to avoid conflict of interest, particularly in respect of projects pertaining to their last posting or sphere of work, before empanelment.

3. Competent Authority for Approval

   The General Manager (GM) of the concerned Zonal Railway shall be the competent authority for approving the empanelment of Sector Experts based on the recommendations of the Empanelment Committee.

4. Engagement and Termination of Engagement

   1. The CAO (C) will assign specific DPR(s) for peer review to a sector expert from the approved panel.
   2. The engagement of a Sector Expert may be terminated by the CAO (C) at any time by giving 15 days’ notice, without assigning any reason.
   3. If the Sector Expert is found to have concealed any material information or is involved in a conflict of interest, the engagement shall be terminated with immediate effect and without any notice.
   4. In case of misconduct or breach of confidentiality, termination shall be immediate and without notice.
   5. To ensure quality and timely completion, no Sector Expert shall be assigned more than four (4) DPRs under review across all Zonal Railways at any given time. The work under consultant will be considered complete only when final report has been submitted and CAO/Construction of that project has accepted it satisfactorily.

5. Scope of Work for Peer Review

   1. The Sector Expert shall review the DPR in detail, including but not limited to:
      1. Technical feasibility
      2. Cost estimates and design justifications
      3. Alignment, survey data, and proposed engineering structures
      4. Environmental and safety considerations
      5. Constructability and phasing of work
   2. Site visits may be required to validate alignment and feasibility.
   3. The Sector Expert shall identify gaps or deficiencies and suggest improvements.
   4. A comprehensive report with observations, findings, and recommendations shall be submitted to the Zonal Railway within a defined timeframe.

6. Review Procedure

   1. DPRs submitted by consultants will be forwarded to the engaged Sector Experts by the Zonal Railway.
   2. The Sector Expert shall acknowledge receipt and provide a timeline for submission of the peer review (in not more than 10 days in any case).
   3. A draft peer review report shall be shared with CAO/C or CE/C for initial comments, followed by submission of the final report.
   4. In case of major observations, the consultant shall be asked to revise the DPR accordingly. Decision shall rest with the concerned CAO/C.
   5. There shall be no splitting of Peer Review for any single FLS-based DPR package. All DPRs arising from one FLS sanction shall be reviewed by the same Sector Expert to ensure coherence and accountability.

7. Honorarium and Logistics

   1. Sector Experts shall be paid an honorarium of 1 lakh per day. For the purpose of calculation, one day shall be considered for every 50 route km in plain areas and 30km in hilly areas. The number of days so calculated shall be rounded up to the next full day for payment purposes.
      For example, if FLS sanctioned length is 23km (0.46 days), payment will be for 1 day. Similarly, if 110km (2.2 days) is the sanctioned FLS length, remuneration of consultation will be for 3 days.
   2. 80% of the honorarium shall be payable upon submission and approval of the draft report by CAO/Construction, and the balance 20% after acceptance of the final report.
   3. TA/DA and other travel expenses (such as conveyance for field visits) shall be admissible as per the entitlements of the retired officer.
   4. Logistics support for review of DPR in HQ/field office, including site visit arrangements, shall be provided by the Construction Organization, which shall also facilitate access to project documents and coordination with consultants.
   5. Expenditure on engagement of Sector Experts shall be charged to the preliminary expenses head of the concerned Capital Work. No separate sanction or allocation shall be made for this purpose, as the cost element stands included in the revised FLS rates prescribed vide Railway Board letter dated 28.07.2025.

8. Confidentiality and Conflict of Interest

   1. Sector Experts shall treat all DPRs, reports, data, and correspondence as strictly confidential.
   2. No information shall be shared with any third party without prior approval of the Zonal Railway.

9. Record-Keeping and Monitoring

   1. An online list of empanelled Sector Experts shall be maintained by the CAO/C office and made available on the Zonal Railway’s website.
   2. Performance and quality of reviews shall be monitored periodically. Sector Experts providing substandard reports may be delisted by the CAO(C).
   3. A review of empanelled Sector Experts shall be carried out annually by CAO(C).
   4. Addition of Sector Experts to the panel can be done by CAO(C) before one year, following the process outlined in Section 2.
   5. There shall be no splitting of peer review of FLS; all DPRs arising from a single FLS sanction shall be reviewed by one Sector Expert only, to maintain consistency and accountability.
   6. This policy shall be reviewed after one year of implementation based on field experience and feedback from Zonal Railways.

10. Validity of Empanelment

The empanelment of a Sector Expert shall be valid for 3 years, extendable by one additional year based on requirement and satisfactory performance.

Annexure- II

Activities to be carried out during Peer Review

(i) The Sector Expert to check that all relevant project aspects (i.e. functional & technical requirements including value engineering, quality & safety aspects etc.) are incorporated in the DPR proposed by the consultants.

(ii) Various aspects including proposed alignment, land schedules, design, sources of materials, project costs shall be verified by the Sector Expert.

(iii) The Sector Expert shall ensure their availability during the first presentation by the DPR consultant to GM/Railway Board through VC.

(iv) To review the utilities relocation plans for its adequacy in consultation with the authorities concerned & verify the methodology of implementation.

(v) The peers to authenticate that all design parameters adopted by the consultants such as traffic data, topographical data, geotechnical data, geometric data etc. are in order and suitable for the project concerned.

(vi) The requirement of safety, the necessity for felling of trees, the local consultations had by DPR Consultants (with a view to identifying the needs/expectations of the people regarding underpasses/realignment etc. keeping in view the codal requirements) etc. may also be reviewed.

(vii) DPR should be faithful to site conditions, availability of materials, and capable of translation on the ground. Survey control points on ground should be established physically and securely and in sufficient numbers to allow accurate and convenient setting out of works.

(viii) Hydraulic design parameters should be based on correct data and field survey. Subsoil investigation for design of structures, sub- grade soil and material investigations for design of track/formation should be accurate and reliable and in sufficient detail. The information should be tabulated and also represented graphically in a form that is capable of being checked and verified. Due account should be taken of any environment restrictions.

(ix) DPR should identify the potential sources of materials like quarry sites, borrow areas, establish their quality and recommend their use on the basis of techno- economic principles. It shall be preferred that locally available materials are utilized in the proposed project.

(x) Correct details of all physical features and obstructions, structures, roads, canal/river crossing, water mains, sewers, gas/oil pipes, trees, plantations, electric and telecommunication lines etc. which affect the proposal should be marked to an accuracy / tolerance consistent with their likely interference. The drawings should be capable to execution at site without additional instructions or changes.

(xi) Drawings for ROBs/ RUBs should be based on clearance by and approval of concerned Road authorities.

(xii) In case of bridges, the final design should be based on approval of General Arrangement Drawing (GAD) and alignment plan, to be given after consideration of alternatives bringing out their cost effectiveness and ease of construction.

(xiii) The description of items in Schedule of items should be consistent with the drawings and specifications, and all should lend themselves to harmonious and unambiguous interpretation.

(xiv) Besides the quantities of various items of work, Schedule of items should also give the quantities of major materials like, cement, steel and track components likely to be required for the work in order to arrive at their reliable percentages, required to be given in the Price Adjustment Formula.

(xv) The requirement of safety, the necessity for felling of trees, the local consultations had by DPR Consultants (with a view to identifying the needs/expectations of the people regarding underpasses/ realignment etc. keeping in view the codal requirements) etc. shall also be reviewed.

(xvi) The adequacy of proposed project infrastructure to serve the project requirements shall be reviewed.

(xvii) The sector Expert shall make a list of items which are not necessary for the project but included in the estimate.

(xviii) In addition to above, any other project specific requirement shall also be reviewed.

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