Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Three engineers suspended

G. Anand

Thiruvananthapuram: The State Government has found serious irregularities in the construction of seawalls to prevent coastal erosion in Kollam district.

The Government has suspended three Irrigation Department engineers in this connection – K. Madhusoodanan, Executive Engineer, Irrigation Division Kollam; R. Mohanan, Assistant Executive Engineer, Irrigation Sub-Division, Chavara, and Alex Varghese, Assistant Engineer, Irrigation Section, Karunagapally.

Their suspensions were ordered on the basis of a report filed by the Government’s Finance Inspection Wing. The anti-financial fraud unit had brought the irregularities to light during a surprise check at the Executive Engineer’s office this year. The wing found that the seawall was not constructed according to design. The walls were not thick or high enough. “Considerable deviation was noticed in the cross-section, width and depth of the seawall,” the report said.

It found that large quantities of construction material had been wasted. The entire granite and material used for emergency works could have been salvaged and re-used for the construction of the main seawall. The inspectors found that contractors had been awarded works without the approval of higher officers. The payments made to contractors were not in proportion to the works completed. Most of the financial fraud had occurred during the June-July period last year.

The wing also detected serious foul play in the award of contracts on the basis of “negotiated quotations.” Office records were found to have been tampered with. Bills were seen to have been passed well in advance for the benefit of contractors. The Government has decided to order an inquiry. It is likely to order an inquiry by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau. The engineers have been suspended under Rule 10 (1) (a) of the Kerala Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal Rules 1960).

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