CPWD Time and Progress Chart (Clause 5): Format, 7-Day Deadline and Monthly Updates

You win a CPWD work. The letter of acceptance arrives, and the next deadline is not the start of excavation. It is the time and progress chart. Under the CPWD General Conditions of Contract (GCC) 2023 you have 7 working days to submit it. After that you report progress against it by the 5th of every month for the life of the contract. Every milestone, extension of time and compensation-for-delay decision is then measured against that chart.

This guide explains:

• what Clause 5 of the GCC 2023 says;
• what a chart the Engineer-in-Charge will approve looks like;
• how Schedule F milestones feed the compensation for delay under Clause 2;
• how to use the chart when you need an extension of time.

It is for contractors, planning engineers and billing engineers on CPWD works and on the many state, university and PSU works that use the CPWD form.

Clause wording differs between GCC editions (2014, 2019, 2023), and departments that adopt the CPWD form often tighten it in their special conditions. The quotes below are from the GCC 2023 for construction works. Your own agreement, its Schedule F and its special conditions decide.

What Clause 5.1 asks for#

Clause 5.1 of the GCC 2023 opens:

"As soon as possible but within 7 (seven) working days of award of work and in consideration of (a) Schedule of handing over of site as specified in the Schedule 'F' (b) Schedule of issue of designs as specified in the Schedule 'F', (i) the Contractor shall submit a Time and Progress Chart for each mile stone. The Engineer-in-Charge may within 7 (seven) working days thereafter, if required modify, and communicate the program approved to the contractor failing which the program submitted by the contractor shall be deemed to be approved by the Engineer-in-Charge."

Four things in these words shape your chart:

• The deadline is 7 working days from award. It is not measured from the start of work. The Engineer-in-Charge then has 7 working days to modify it; if they do not respond, your programme is deemed approved.
• The chart must respect Schedule F's site-handover and design-issue schedules. If Schedule F says part of the site is handed over in month 2, or structural drawings for the upper floors come in month 3, your chart cannot plan work there earlier.
• It is "for each mile stone". The milestones come from Schedule F (below), so the chart has to show how each one will be met.
• If you do not submit, the Engineer-in-Charge's programme becomes final. Clause 5.1(ii) says: "In case of non submission of construction programme by the contractor, the program approved by the Engineer-in-Charge shall be deemed to be final." You then work to someone else's plan.

The same clause says what the chart is:

"The Chart shall be prepared in direct relation to the time stated in the Contract documents for completion of items of the works. It shall indicate the forecast of the dates of commencement and completion of various trades of sections of the work and may be amended as necessary by agreement between the Engineer-in-Charge and the Contractor within the limitations of time imposed in the Contract documents."

Approval does not shift responsibility. Clause 5.1(iii) adds that approval "shall not relieve the contractor of any of the obligations under the contract."

Monthly progress reports: by the 5th, in agreed software#

Clause 5.1(iv) turns the chart into a monthly obligation:

"The contractor shall submit the Time and Progress Chart and progress report using the mutually agreed software or in other format decided by Engineer-in-Charge for the work done during previous month to the Engineer-in-charge on or before 5th day of each month failing which a recovery as per Schedule F to be decided by the NIT approving authority shall be made on per week or part basis in case of delay in submission of the monthly progress report"

In practice:

• The software is agreed, not fixed by the GCC. The clause says "mutually agreed software or in other format decided by Engineer-in-Charge".
  • MS Project is common on building works.
  • Some CPWD-pattern tenders name Primavera in their special conditions. A September 2026 Delhi Technological University tender for a Rs 64.57 lakh civil work still asks for a "Construction Program prepared on PRIMAVERA Software or any other equivalent software decided by the Engineer-in-Charge", with fortnightly reports on the 1st and 16th.
  • Check the NIT before you choose.
• Late reports cost money. The recovery rate is filled in Schedule F by the NIT approving authority and is charged per week or part of a week.

When you must revise the programme#

Clause 5.4 sets the trigger:

"With every request for rescheduling of milestones, or if at any time the actual progress of work falls behind the approved programme by more than 10% of the stipulated period of completion of contract, the contractor shall produce a revised programme without causing any delay in execution of the work. A recovery as specified in Schedule 'F' shall be made on per day basis in case of delay in submission of the revised programme."

The 10% is measured in time: 10% of the stipulated period. It is not 10% of physical progress. On a 12-month contract, falling more than about 36 days behind the approved programme triggers a revised programme, and a late revision attracts a per-day recovery. A programme you can update in minutes, rather than redraw, pays for itself here.

Schedule F milestones and compensation for delay (Clause 2)#

Schedule F of your agreement lists the milestones for Clause 5 in a table with three columns:

• "Description of Milestone (Physical)";
• "Time Allowed in days (from date of start)";
• "Amount to be with-held in case of non achievement of milestone".

Schedule F also states how many days after the letter of acceptance the date of start is reckoned. The GCC leaves these blank. The NIT approving authority fills them for each work, so read your own Schedule F before planning anything.

Clause 2 then links progress to money:

"(i) With maximum rate @ 1% (one percent) maximum per month of delay to be computed on per day basis based on quantum of damage suffered due to stated delay on the part of Contractor. Provided always that the total amount of compensation for delay to be paid under this condition shall not exceed 10 % of the accepted Tendered Value of work."

On milestones, the same clause says the amount shown against a missed milestone "shall be withheld, to be adjusted against the compensation levied as above", and:

"With-holding of this amount on failure to achieve a milestone, shall be automatic without any notice to the contractor. However, if the contractor catches up with the progress of work on the subsequent milestone(s), the withheld amount shall be released."

No interest is paid on withheld amounts. Older CPWD-pattern contracts used a flat 1.5% a month; the GCC 2023 wording is "maximum" 1% a month, decided on the damage suffered.

What a good time and progress chart contains#

A chart that the Engineer-in-Charge approves without a round of comments usually has:

1. The date of start and completion from the agreement, reckoned as Schedule F says. The start is not the day you mobilised.
2. Activities by building, floor and trade. Clause 5.1 asks for the "commencement and completion of various trades of sections of the work".
   • For a building: substructure; each floor's columns, slab, masonry, services and finishes; external works; handover.
   • Aim for a level that can be progressed monthly: often 60–250 activities for a Rs 1–50 crore building work.
3. Logic links, not just bars.
   • Slab after columns, masonry after de-propping, plaster after conduits.
   • The critical path must be visible, because every extension-of-time discussion comes back to "did this delay hold up completion?".
4. Schedule F milestones as milestone activities, with the physical work planned to be done by each. If the chart is cost-loaded from your BOQ, you can show the milestone quantities are reachable.
5. Site-handover and design-issue constraints from Schedule F, as Clause 5.1 requires.
6. A working calendar: 6 days a week, national holidays, your region's festival shutdowns, and lower output in the monsoon for earthwork and external work.
7. Realistic RCC cycles. Stripping and curing follow IS 456:2000:
   • For OPC concrete at 15 degrees C or above: props to slabs stay 7 days for spans up to 4.5 m (14 days above); props to beams 14 days up to 6 m (21 days above); at least 7 days of moist curing.
   • Amendment 5 (2019) sets longer minimums for concrete with PPC, fly ash or slag (for example 10 days for slab props up to 4.5 m), and 10 days of curing for blended cements.
   • Most site concrete in India is PPC, so plan with the longer figures unless your cubes say otherwise.

Bar chart or CPM network?#

• Bar chart. The GCC does not name a format, and a bar chart is readable on a site-office wall.
• CPM network. A bar chart alone cannot show which delay moved the completion date, and that is the question Clauses 2 and 5 keep asking.
• Build both: build the programme as a logic-linked schedule in the agreed software, and print its bar-chart view for the file. The same schedule then produces the monthly report and any revised programme.

A worked example: Rs 4 crore G+3 office building, 12 months#

Assume the NIT's Schedule F sets these milestones. This is an illustrative pattern, not a CPWD standard, so use your own Schedule F.

Now suppose the cost-loaded programme shows only Rs 38 lakh of work by month 3, because of a slow slab cycle with one set of props. The plan misses milestone 1 before the first brick is laid, and the withheld amount follows automatically. The fixes are all in the plan, not on site:

• a second set of props and shuttering, to shorten the slab cycle;
• starting the lift well or staircase earlier;
• splitting the building into two work fronts.

Have that conversation in the 7 working days after award, not in month 4.

Extension of time under Clause 5#

Clause 5 also sets out how time is extended.

• Delays beyond your control (5.2). The listed causes are:

  • force majeure;
  • abnormally bad weather;
  • serious loss or damage by fire;
  • civil commotion, local commotion of workmen, strike or lockout;
  • delay by other contractors engaged by the Engineer-in-Charge;
  • "any other cause like above" beyond your control.

  You must "immediately give notice thereof in writing to the Engineer-in-Charge". The clause says: "The contractor shall have no claim of damages for extension of time granted or rescheduling of milestone/s for events listed in sub clause 5.2."

• Hindrances by the Department (5.3). Where the Department is responsible, the Schedule F authority "shall, if justified, give a fair and reasonable extension of time and reschedule the mile stones". Where such delays overlap with 5.2 events, you get only an extension of time for the overlapping part, not damages.

• The application (5.4). The request "shall be made by the Contractor in writing within fourteen days of the happening of the event causing delay on the prescribed forms" (Appendix XVI for extension of time). It must state the period sought, and come with a revised programme.

• The decision (5.4.1). The authority communicates the extension or rescheduled milestones "in writing, within 21 days of the date of receipt of such request". If you do not apply, the Engineer-in-Charge may give an extension after hearing you, supported by a programme.

• Your own delays (5.5). The Engineer-in-Charge may grant time without rescheduling milestones, but you remain liable for compensation for that period.

The Appendix XVI form asks for the "Hindrances on account of which extension is applied for with dates on which hindrances occurred and the period for which these are likely to last". Two habits make that easy:

1. Keep a hindrance register from day one. Record each hindrance's start and end dates, the activities it held up and who signed it.
2. Show the effect on the programme. Add each hindrance to the schedule and show which critical activities moved and by how many days. That is a far easier extension to grant than a letter listing reasons, and it is what the revised programme under 5.4 is for.

Common reasons a chart is sent back#

These come from practice, not from the GCC:

• Dates that ignore the agreement. The start is before the reckoned date of start, or the completion is after the stipulated time.
• Work planned on land or drawings that Schedule F says you will not have yet.
• No milestones, or milestones that do not match Schedule F.
• Bars with no logic, so the critical path and float cannot be seen.
• RCC cycles shorter than IS 456 stripping and curing allow, or finishes before the roof slab and terrace waterproofing.
• No holiday or monsoon calendar.
• Activities too long to report monthly. "Finishing: 120 days" cannot be reported.
• A file the Engineer-in-Charge cannot open. Agree the software first, and send a PDF with every native file.

FAQ#

What is the time and progress chart in CPWD?#

It is the contractor's programme for the work, submitted under Clause 5.1 of the CPWD GCC within 7 working days of award. It shows the forecast dates of commencement and completion of the various trades and sections of the work, for each Schedule F milestone. Monthly progress and any delay are judged against it.

Is the time and progress chart the same as a programme chart or bar chart?#

Broadly yes. The GCC uses "Time and Progress Chart" and "programme"; site teams also say "programme chart", "work programme" and "bar chart". What matters is what your agreement and special conditions require: the milestones, the level of detail, and the software.

Which software is required for the CPWD chart?#

The GCC 2023 says "mutually agreed software or in other format decided by Engineer-in-Charge". Individual tenders sometimes name Primavera "or any other equivalent software". MS Project is common on building works.

What happens if I do not submit the chart within 7 working days?#

Under Clause 5.1(ii), the programme approved by the Engineer-in-Charge becomes final. You lose the chance to set the plan you will be measured against. Some special conditions also add recoveries for late submissions.

When must I submit a revised programme?#

With every request to reschedule milestones, and whenever actual progress falls behind the approved programme by more than 10% of the stipulated period of completion (Clause 5.4). Late revised programmes attract a per-day recovery set in Schedule F.

How is compensation for delay calculated under CPWD Clause 2?#

Under the GCC 2023, it is at a maximum of 1% of the accepted tendered value per month of delay, computed per day and based on the damage suffered. The total is capped at 10% of the accepted tendered value. Amounts against missed Schedule F milestones are withheld automatically, and released if you catch up by a later milestone.

How long do I have to apply for an extension of time?#

Fourteen days from the event causing delay, in writing on the prescribed form (Appendix XVI), with a revised programme (Clause 5.4). The authority in Schedule F communicates its decision within 21 days of receiving the request (Clause 5.4.1).

Need the chart prepared?#

SiteSetu prepares the time and progress chart for CPWD and PWD works from your BOQ, in 24–72 hours from the award letter:

• in MS Project or Primavera;
• mapped to your Schedule F milestones;
• with a cost-loaded S-curve;
• with a basis for every duration.

Monthly updates and revised programmes are available for the life of the contract.

Related guides:

• price escalation under CPWD Clauses 10C, 10CA and 10CC
• construction scheduling methods: CPM, PERT and bar charts

References#

• Central Public Works Department, General Conditions of Contract 2023 (Construction Works), Clauses 2, 5.1–5.5, Schedule F and Appendix XVI. CPWD OM No. DG/CON/Misc./30 dated 22.09.2023. Public copy: https://iitk.ac.in/iwd/file/2025/04-AC-EE-2025/GCC2023.pdf
• Delhi Technological University, tender document (September 2026), Clause 1.53 "Program Chart": https://www.dtu.ac.in/Web/upload/tender/2026/sep/file0906.pdf
• Bureau of Indian Standards, IS 456:2000 Plain and Reinforced Concrete: Code of Practice, Clauses 11.3.1 and 13.5.1, with Amendment No. 5 (2019): https://law.resource.org/pub/in/bis/S03/is.456.2000.pdf