The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) has opened a criminal investigation against a private contractor and 16 officials of two government agencies on the charge of corruption and lack of supervision in the shoddy construction of the National Highway flyover at Palarivattom in Kochi.

In an FIR filed at an anti-corruption court in Ernakulam, the agency said officials of the Road and Bridges Development Corporation (RBDC) and Kitco, State-owned consultancy, had conspired with the contractor to cut corners to save on construction cost.

In the process, they had allegedly accorded undue pecuniary advantage to the firm, possibly for sizeable bribes, jeopardised public safety and caused loss to the State exchequer.

The VACB had questioned A.P. Muhammad Hanif, former managing director of the RBDC, as part of its investigations.

However, it was unclear whether the agency had named him as an accused in the FIR.

The FIR also cast severe doubts on the sustainability of the bridge, despite short-term repairs, and said the suspected officials had altered its original design to help the contractor.

The ambitious project to mitigate traffic congestion in the closely built-up metropolitan locality had commenced under the Oommen Chandy government in 2014.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated it in 2016. Recently, the flyover developed cracks on its superstructure and potholes dotted the tarmac.

The government closed the bridge for traffic and tasked a team of IIT experts to investigate the matter. The team found that the contractor had used low-quality concrete and conserved on construction steel to squeeze profits.

Indian Union Muslim League leader V.K. Ebrahim Kunju was at the helm of the Public Works Department at the time.