Thiruvananthapuram: Following complaints from contractors fed up with incessant bribing, Vigilance had unearthed massive corruption in PWD when helmed by former minister VK Ebrahim Kunju. And, former Vigilance Director ,Vinson M Paul, had submitted a report to UDF government saying, crores of rupees were collected towards commission quota fixed for PWD minister and its Secretary T.O. Sooraj. The report had arrayed nine categories of corruption that were rampant in the department. However Oomen Chandy, who was chief minister at that time, chose to ignore the findings. Therefore the modus operandi of chief engineers, engineers and superintendents across divisions collecting quota monies continued unabated. Commission in bribes would be fixed as soon as a bill was prepared and in some cases, the bills were cleared even while works were not completed.
The report said, revised estimates with exaggerated figures were approved by the department. Work supplies including coal tar came to be sold under cover. Employee transfers were arranged on basis of bribes. The report also cited irregularities related to splitting roads for telecom purposes. At that time, contractors overwhelmed with paying bribes had lodged a complaint with Vigilance up which, a discreet inquiry was conducted and then preliminary investigations. Following this, the Vigilance DySP had submitted his report to the Vigilance Director.
