VACB raids on road quality reveal cartelisation in Kerala

Nexus between PWD officials, government contractors

Simultaneous surprise inspections of randomly selected Public Works department (PWD) road segments in Kerala by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) have revealed shoddy construction and poor maintenance work.

A senior official said the detections were just the tip of the iceberg. However, they revealed a corrupt, cooperative arrangement between PWD officials and government contractors that indicated cartel formation.

Kerala has about 3 lakh km of roads. The PWD roads division, PWD national highway division and Local Self-Government Institutions engineering division are responsible for reconstructing and maintaining at least 30,000 km of roads.

The poor condition of State-maintained roads had become a subject of public debate, with citizens lamenting the plight of pedestrians and motorists plagued by potholed roads and wrecked thoroughfares.

Manoj Abraham, Director, VACB, had ordered the operation, code-named Saral Rastha, based on a slew of public complaints.

The VACB found that PWD and LSGI roads often cratered before their warranty expired, resulting in fatal accidents and grievous injuries. Merely negotiating the roads caused prolapsed discs, twisted ankles, shredded tires and broken axles.

As per law, the government contractor must reconstruct the road at personal expense if it falls into disrepair during the warranty period. However, the rule remained mainly on paper. PWD officials re-tendered the work to the same contractor at a higher rate by turning a blind eye to the warranty violation.