Vigilance Commissioner and Special Judge V Bhaskaran ordered for a probe into the alleged irregularities in the potablewater distribution system of Thrissur Corporation on Monday.
The judge ordered the probe while considering a petition filed by Malayala Vedi president George Vattakkulam. The charges were levelled against Mayor I P Paul, Deputy Mayor Suby Babu, health standing committee chairman C S Sreenivasan and corporation secretary. The issue has garnered wide attention when the audit report cited irregularities in potable water distribution during the fiscal year 2011-2012. The petitioner alleged corruption in the distribution of potablewater to five zones in the corporation limits - Ayyanthole, Ollukkara, Koorkkanchery, Ollur and Vilvattom.
According to a government order it is the duty of the Revenue Department to distribute drinking water to these drought-prone areas. But instead of declaring it as drought-prone areas, the corporation distributed water to these areas and wasted crores of rupees,” the petition said.
The petitioner alleged that the distributor did not clearly mention the route and the quantity of water to be distributed in the contract. It led to a large scale irregularity in water supply, he said. The tripsheet showed that the trucks had conducted 14 trips a day.
But the distances between the water source and the distribution points were not mentioned. Besides there was no facility to monitor the quality of water, he added.