Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Lapses found in some PWD road works

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A report that points to lapses with respect to eight road works carried out by the Public Works Department in Malabar last year has been submitted by the Finance Inspection Wing of the State government. The lapses include jacking up of estimates, manipulation of measurements and deficient execution.

Officers ranging from Assistant Engineers to the Chief Engineer were cited as being responsible for these, which possibly led to losses to the tune of crores of rupees to the exchequer. These were found in random inspections at the time of execution.

A report submitted on January 2 by the Chief Technical Examiner who works under the Finance Inspection Wing cited the eight works in the Manjeri Road Division. Tender calls were waived for the works.

The Chief Engineer gave technical sanction for laying the Tirur-Malappuram-Manjeri road for Rs.9.8 crore and the work was awarded through quotations. But the estimate was revised to Rs.9.10 crore without due diligence and in violation of the guidelines. The revised estimate was inflated and not consistent with the requirements at the work site. “Estimates are boosted up with utter disregard to the guidelines, specifications and norms prevailing in the department,” the report says.

Manipulations in work measurements were cited. “The length of the road shown for maintenance in the name of [the] work appears to be more than the actual at site,” the report says.

Discrepancies were pointed out in the thickness of the road and the use of blue metal at various reaches. The thickness was increased where it was not warranted, “in clear violation of the guidelines and specification requirement.”

A sum of Rs.3.77 crore was initially sanctioned for the maintenance of the Thrikkalangode-Wandoor-Kalikavu road. This figure was subsequently revised to Rs.4.86 crore for certain additional works.

Inconsistencies were cited in the thickness of the road surface and the details recorded in the measurement book and the estimate provision. The estimate revision was unwarranted since it was not in conformity with the actual requirement at the site, the report says.

Irregularities were identified in the maintenance of the Kattungachola-Pilakka Puzhankadavu-Pullencherry road, the accident-prone curve at Kattungal, the Malappuram-Kottappady bypass, and the Kavanoor-Trippanchi-Mongam, Randathani-Variyathu- Kurukathani and Vettichira- Kadampuzha- Koottilangadi roads.

The inspection team pointed out certain general tendencies in the department like preparing estimates and according sanction without due care, and revising them with inflated figures. Inflated figures were detected in the measurement book. The quality of the works is far from satisfactory.

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