THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Bringing to light serious irregularities in road work, a vigilance inspection of 148 roads across the state has found that 67 of them got damaged within six months after construction or repair. The inspections carried out by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) under ‘Operation Saral Rastha -3’ on Friday also found that sufficient quantities of bitumen were not used in 19 roads. The findings assume significance as four people lost their lives in accidents in the past three months due to potholes and damaged roads in the state.
The VACB carried out the inspections after it received complaints regarding the poor quality of materials used in the construction and the unholy nexus between contractors and PWD staff, which resulted in poor road maintenance.
The anti-graft body inspected 115 roads under the local self-government department, 24 PWD roads, and nine roads under the Kerala State Transport Project. It was found that many roads were constructed violating the directives laid down by the Road Transport and Highways Ministry and the Indian Road Congress. A vigilance source said prima facie, it was found that flouting rules was one of the main reasons for the roads getting damaged within a short span of time.
Vigilance to propose action against tainted officials
According to vigilance’s initial findings, small potholes had formed on 18 roads in Thiruvananthapuram, 10 in Kollam, six in Pathanamthitta, four each in Kottayam, Kannur, Kasaragod and Palakkad, three each in Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Kozhikode and Wayanad, two in Idukki and one in Malappuram.
The vigilance also found that tarring was not done properly on a road in Ernakulam, road roller was not used for resurfacing a road in Kollam and one road in Kozhikode was found completely damaged within a few months of its construction.
Similarly, it was found that tar (bitumen) used for resurfacing the roads was used in lesser quantities than the prescribed quantity on 19 roads. The sleuths found that there were three such roads each in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Wayanad, two each in Kottayam, Thrissur and Kozhikode, one each in Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam, Kasaragod and Kannur districts.
The roads that were in bad condition were identified by the vigilance team and samples collected from those places. After gathering the files pertaining to the construction from the offices concerned, samples were sent to various laboratories for detailed examination. Vigilance director Manoj Abraham vowed further action based on the test results.
VIGILANCE FINDINGS
Sufficient quantities of bitumen were not used in 19 of the 148 roads inspected
Flouting construction rules main reason for the roads getting damaged fast
