THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Vigilance and Anti-corruption Bureau officers on Wednesday collected specimens of 116 roads in the state as part of ‘Operation Saral Rastha-2’ to detect irregularities in road construction. A statement issued by the anti-corruption body said several irregularities in road construction came to its notice during the preliminary examination.
The roads belonging to PWD and local bodies were inspected. It was found that many of the roads were built without using grade metal and adequate amount of tar mentioned in the tender notice. The thickness of the tarmac has also been manipulated in many places to give pecuniary benefits to the contractors and that’s been done with the assistance of the government engineers, the Vigilance said.
The preliminary examination has revealed that most of the roads built in this manner get damaged within the guarantee period of six months. However, corrupt government officials re-float the tenders after six months for road repair thereby resulting in huge financial loss to the government.
The samples of the roads that had worn out within six months after laying or renovation were subjected to physical examination. The core of the tarmac was cut open and samples were taken for testing. Further action will be taken on the basis of the lab examination report of the road samples, said Vigilance Director Manoj Abraham.