Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Government yet to act on watchdog agency’s report

Thiruvananthapuram: The State government is yet to act on a Finance Inspection Wing report that certain Public Works Department (PWD) engineers committed serious financial irregularities while executing renovation work at the historically-important Sri Chitra Enclave heritage structure inside the Museum and Zoo compound here in 2006.

The Constitutionally empowered watchdog agency, which reports financial misdoings to the government, had recommended the immediate suspension of two suspect engineers attached to the PWD Building Division (Thiruvananthapuram) in 2007 “fearing fabrication of false records and estimate.” The agency has now told the Finance Ministry that laxity on the part of the PWD in implementing its recommendations resulted in “further manipulation of records by the PWD engineers” as it had feared.

The agency said the suspect engineers had fabricated false records to claim the cost of the work. It has accused the engineers of showing on record the entire renovation work as three “sub works” to evade certain laws. The wing has charged the engineers with causing loss to the government and recommended disciplinary action against them. The Chief Technical Examiner should assess the loss caused to the government, it said in its report.

Earlier, the agency had reported that the PWD had awarded the renovation work to a private contractor without preparing an estimate and without getting administrative or technical sanction. It accused the PWD of awarding the work without observing the rules that govern the awarding of government contracts. The wing said it found no official records regarding the work at the office of the concerned PWD engineer.

The Finance Department has asked the PWD to immediately implement the inspection wing’s recommendations.

In a communication to the PWD, the Finance Department quoted a Government Order (GO (P) No.506/92/Fin dated August 20, 1992) which states that Government Secretaries and heads of departments should ensure strict compliance and speedy follow up action on recommendations made by the Finance Inspection Wing.

The order states that any lapse on the part of supervisory officers in this regard will invite penal action against them.

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