Tightening the noose around corrupt road construction practices, the Vigilance and Anti-corruption Bureau (VACB) sleuths on Saturday collected specimens of 148 roads in the State as part of ‘Operation Saral Rastha-3’ to detect irregularities in road construction.
According to a statement issued by the anti-corruption watchdog, several irregularities in the construction came to the fore during preliminary inspection.
The roads where the flash inspections were carried out by the vigilance sleuths included 115 roads built by the local body self-government institutions, 24 roads by the Public Works department, and nine roads by the Kerala State Transport Project. Further among the roads, 67 roads were damaged within months after the construction or resurfacing works, while tarmac was used well below the stipulated quantity on 19 roads.
In Ernakulam, one road was re-laid without applying the required quantity of tarmac while another road in Kollam was found constructed without adequately using the road roller during the construction. In Kozhikode, one road was completely damaged within months after the construction.
The samples collected from these roads would be sent for lab tests to ascertain the ratio of tarmac, metal, sand, and chips used during the time of construction, said Manoj Abraham, Vigilance Director.
Earlier, the VACB sleuths had collected samples of 116 roads in the State as part of ‘Operation Saral Rastha-2’ on August 17. The Vigilance Director also appealed to the people to alert incidents of corruption to the Vigilance toll-free number 1064 or WhatsApp number 8592900900/9447789100.
