Kochi: Tender okayed violating norms

KOCHI: The tender submitted by RDS Projects Ltd, the Delhi-based construction company, contractor for the Palarivattom flyover project, was approved violating norms. Sources in Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau(VACB), probing the corruption in connection with the flyover project, said the Delhi firm has failed in submitting the documents certifying the qualifications of the company in undertaking the work along with the tender documents.    

The Public Works Department (PWD) manual clearly mentions that if the contractor fails to provide the pre-qualification documents the tender should be rejected. According to the PWD manual, the contractor should submit the financial and technical qualifications along with the tender documents. The documents showing experience in implementing similar projects also needed to be submitted.

The RDS Project, however, submitted only the tender documents and this alone should have led to the rejection of the tender. The officials of Roads and Bridges Corporation of Kerala (RBDCK), responsible for the implementing the project however, remained indifferent on the matter. The technical consultant KITCO also closed their eyes on the matter. The VACB team has also found many other irregularities in releasing money to the contractor providing an opportunity for the contractor in gaining undue financial advantage. The probe team has found that T.O. Sooraj, the then PWD secretary, was involved in facilitating such transactions. The VACB team has sought the custody of Sooraj, RDS Projects Managing Director Sumit Goyal, former RBDCK General Manager M.T. Thankachan and KITCO joint general manager Benny Paul for interrogation. The four persons were arrested in connection with the case on Friday. The probe team has submitted an application in this regard in the Muvattupuzha Vigilance Court, which is scheduled to consider the bail application of the four on Monday. The probe team has sought the custody for four days. The vigilance team has submitted the four are involved in looting public money and they needed to be questioned in detail to bring out the depth of the malpractices. The probe team has also pointed out that the state is raising money for road development by collecting a special cess of Rs 1 for every litre of petrol and diesel sold in the state.