KOCHI: After a two-week-long preliminary inquiry, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) on Tuesday filed a report to its director on suspected corruption in the construction flyover at Palarivattom.
According to sources, the report submitted by the VACB Ernakulam District Unit pointed out numerous flaws in the construction of the flyover.
Sources in the VACB headquarters said based on the findings of the report the Vigilance director will decide on registering an FIR and conduct a detailed investigation.“There were flaws in the construction of the flyover. This was revealed even from the samples collected from the flyover examined by Highway Engineering Laboratory. Even the IIT Madras team which carried out a study had also found technical issues in the construction of the bridge. We had also taken the expert opinion on the matter. However, a further decision has to be taken by the director,” sources said. The flyover has been closed for the past three weeks for repair work after cracks developed just three years after its commissioning. Recently, the state government had directed the VACB Ernakulam unit to conduct a preliminary inquiry to check whether any corruption has taken place.
The VACB had recorded the statements of officers of the Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala Ltd (RBDCK), including its former MD A P M Mohammed Hanish. RBDCK was given the task to construct the flyover. Similarly, the contractor assigned by RBDCK and officials of KITCO, the consulting agency, was also quizzed.
PWD Minister G Sudhakaran had blamed RBDCK and KITCO for improper construction of the flyover. He alleged apathy by both agencies along with unscrupulous practices led to the poor condition of the bridge.