THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a curious order, the government has decided to fix the responsibility for irregularities in building one of the tunnels of the Periyar Valley irrigation project on seven engineers of the water resources department 36 years after execution of the work.
After much deliberation, the government decided that the action of the engineers, while constructing a tunnel across Methala hills, resulted in a Rs 1.27 lakh loss to the exchequer, and that the amount should be retrieved from them by dividing the loss equally among the retired engineers. The government order in this regard was issued by the department last month. Interestingly, three of the seven engineers are not even alive today.
The matter pertains to 1984, when the tunnel was constructed as part of the project. It was found that when the tunnel was constructed the estimate was prepared and sent to the government by including the cost of metal and sand for construction. But the tunnel muck, including sand and rock that were considered to be a waste, was found absent, which was found to have actually been used in the construction.
The public accounts committee of the legislative assembly from 2001 to 2004, in its 37th report, found that it is very clear that there was a lapse on the part of those who prepared the estimate and the reason explained subsequently for the disappearance of tunnel muck from the dumping yard was not at all convincing. The committee then recommended that the cost of metal and sand used for lining the tunnel which was included in the contract and also for which payments were made to the contractor should be considered as a loss to the government that should be recovered from the persons responsible.
Even though the government gave an explanation, the committee, in its 97th report in 2016, once again said the government should fix the responsibility on those who were part of the project.
The government then calculated Rs 1,27,310 as the amount that should be recovered from the seven engineers. This amounted to Rs 18,187 per person. However, since three of those found responsible had passed away the finance department asked the irrigation department to write off their dues. The government has now issued notices to the remaining four to repay the amount, failing which they will have to face civil cases.