Work on a road connecting the Kurumba tribal community’s remote settlement at Anavay with Chindakki in Attappady has got a fresh lease of life, thanks to the benefit-tracking audit initiated by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) into tribal welfare packages implemented in the region during the last 10 years. The project had been abandoned halfway last year, costing the State exchequer about ₹7 crore.
The project to lay a 7.5-km road at an estimated cost of ₹11.04 crore was formulated by the Scheduled Tribes Department during the beginning of last fiscal. The contract was awarded to the public sector Forest Industries Travancore Ltd (FITL). The aim was to ensure road connectivity to the settlement of the Kurumbas, a forest dwelling community in the Attappady-Silent Valley region.
The Aluva-based FITL entrusted the work to some local contractors. Sources alleged that the contractor had laid poor quality road for about 6,600 metres and allegedly accepted ₹7 crore from the total fund in connivance with FITL officials before abandoning the project.
“We have directed the contractors and officials concerned to face prosecution or lay the complete road properly without causing any additional burden to the State exchequer. The executive engineer in charge of the road construction work was apprised of the impact of legal action. They have resumed the road work and we are strictly monitoring the quality of the work,” said VACB Circle Inspector V. Krishnankutty. “The remaining funds would be sanctioned only after completing the work in a proper manner,” he said.
According to him, the benefit-tracking audit is progressing fast in the region with a view to ending corruption and mismanagement in tribal welfare initiatives. Thomson Jose, SP, VACB, Dy. SPs Firos M. Shafeeq and Sukumaran are leading the initiative. “We have also detected huge irregularities in the construction of a 4-km Kallamala-Chinnaparambu road with a total expenditure of ₹4 crore. The contractors used poor quality quarry waste to lay the road.
Now, instructions have been given to relay the road using original construction materials. If they fail to adhere, criminal proceedings would be initiated,” said Mr. Krishnankutty.
In the case of the Gottiyarkandi-Kurukuthikunnu road, the VACB found that the contractors had collected 500 loads of granite from the local area in violation of a Government Order (GO) banning all quarry operations in Attappady.
“Criminal prosecution would be initiated against the contractor,” said Mr. Krishnankutty.