Kerala Vigilance to submit seized docs on Palarivattom flyover construction to court

The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau raided the office of RDS Project, which received the contract of constructing the Palarivattom flyover.
Kerala Vigilance to submit seized docs on Palarivattom flyover construction to court
Kerala Vigilance to submit seized docs on Palarivattom flyover construction to court
Written by:

The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) officials in Kochi will submit the seized documents related to Palarivattom flyover construction to Muvattupuzha Vigilance Court. In a raid conducted at the Kochi office of RDS Projects Ltd, the New-Delhi based firm that got the contract of constructing Palarivattom flyover, VACB officials had seized documents related to flyover construction.

On Friday evening, the VACB conducted the raid as part of a probe in the alleged violations in the construction of the Palarivattom flyover in Kochi, which led to its closure. Within two years of its construction, the flyover, which was built at a cost of Rs 47.7 crore, has been closed for vehicles after major cracks appeared on the structure.

Investigating officers with VACB, who are probing the case, told TNM that documents, including bank transaction details of RDS, purchase register, hard disk and laptop, were seized.

“We have seized these documents to check whether they had done the work related to flyover construction as specified. If yes, there should be documents to support it and we are going through these. We will soon submit these seized materials to the court as we need permission to conduct a scientific test of the articles like the hard disk,” a VACB official told TNM.

VACB  is also looking into whether RDS Projects submitted a tampered report to Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala (RBDCK) Limited, an autonomous body under the Kerala government, which built the structure.

The flyover is situated at Pipeline junction in Kochi, one of the busiest spots that connect Palarivattom, Edapally, Vytilla and Kakkanad. With the flyover being closed, heavy traffic looms over the area, with commuters having to spent at least 20 minutes in the traffic congestion to cross the junction.

While RDS Projects was awarded the contract to built the structure, the project was implemented by KITCO Limited.

In a report submitted to the Muvattupuzha Vigilance Court a few days ago, VACB had named top officials of RDS Project, RBDCK, KITCO and of Nagesh Consultants, which designed the structure of flyover, as accused in the case. According to reports, APM Muhammed Hanish IAS, the then managing director of RBDK, has also been named as an accused in the case.

Metro man E Sreedharan to inspect flyover

Meanwhile, as per the request of the state government, E Sreedharan, the principal advisor of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) - popularly known as the Metro Man - will visit the Palarivattom flyover on Monday. On Thursday, he met Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as apprehensions have been raised about the safety of the flyover even as it is being repaired.

After the visit, E Sreedharan will give his opinion on whether the flyover should be rebuilt or repaired.

The preliminary report submitted by the vigilance and the expert report of IIT Madras pointed out that major flaws during the construction of the flyover. Reports state that the quantity and quality of cement and steel specified for the construction of flyover had been compromised, which led to the cracks on the core structure of the flyover.

Meanwhile, VK Ebrahimkunju, the former Minister of Public Works Department, said he was not involved with reasons in the construction flaws of the flyover. “A minister can only give administrative sanction, I have done that but how can I know whether those who constructed it used the specified quantity of materials,” Ebrahimkunju told the media on Thursday.  

Related Stories

No stories found.
The News Minute
www.thenewsminute.com