RDS Projects, the New Delhi-based contracting firm which built the Palarivattom flyover, is legally bound to pay expenses to the tune of ₹20 crore for dismantling girders and rebuilding them, sources in the PWD and the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB), which registered a case on the issue, said.
“This is because it [flyover] suffered extensive damage, including cracks on its girders and pier caps, within the three-year defect-liability period,” they added.
Gaping potholes appeared on the surface of the flyover within two months of its commissioning in October 2016, while an expert team from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) detected cracks in October 2018. The cracks became bigger as months passed since many glass pieces that were affixed on them (to ascertain whether the cracks widened) crumbled within a short time frame. The flyover’s defect-liability period would expire only in October 2019.
In the meantime, a high-ranking PWD official said it was up to the State government to take a call on bearing the expenses of the reconstruction of the flyover since the Palarivattom fiasco is unprecedented. “The PWD has very little say in the issue although it was RBDCK, our subsidiary agency, which built the structure,” the official added.
Contractor blamed
A senior VACB official said the flyover suffered severe structural problems, primarily due to slack supervision by RDS Projects and the firm relying on a faulty design to cut cost, apart from inadequate usage of cement and steel.
Both KITCO, the project consultant, and RBDCK did not vet the design and other crucial aspects.
S. Gopakumar, president of Better Kochi Response Group (BKRG), an NGO which has been readying infra projects in the city in tandem with the State government, termed Monday’s decision on the flyover as “Good riddance! And thank God, the firm did not construct Kochi metro.”
He added: “It goes with Kochi’s demolition spree. It is evident that the firm and other stakeholders did not adhere to norms. In mega private projects, all the components and ingredients are tested in advance. The concrete is further tested by using cubes cast along with the work. If the cube test fails, the portion of the concrete done will be dismantled. I have advised the government on the need to employ a project-management agency/consultant, instead of government officials doing the supervision and enforcement [of norms].”
