Keralam govt orders Vigilance probe into Mundamveli P&T apartment project

The Keralam Home Department has issued an order directing the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the construction of the P&T Apartment Complex at Mundamveli within the Kochi Corporation limits.

The order dated September 22, issued by the Additional Chief Secretary, directs the VACB director to conduct the inquiry against the officials responsible for the irregularities detected. The inquiry report shall be submitted to the government within the stipulated time, the order said.

The Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) constructed the complex, comprising two four-storey towers, at an estimated cost of around ₹14.50 crore to rehabilitate 77 families from the now-demolished flood-prone P&T Colony in the Gandhi Nagar division of the Kochi Corporation. The project was jointly funded under PMAY, LIFE Mission, and Cochin Smart Mission Limited. Families were shifted to the apartment complex on January 31, 2024. The apartments started leaking during the first downpour a fortnight later. Eventually, even the toilets began leaking. The Hindu had recently highlighted the plight of the families.

Families welcome probe

Families, who have now been on an indefinite stir for more than two months, have welcomed the Vigilance inquiry. “Every person found responsible should be stripped of their current positions and thrown behind bars. The inquiry should also be completed in a time-bound manner,” said Abhilash P. Parameswaran, president of the P&T Apartment Owners Association, while sitting at the protest pandal.

However, the families do not see the inquiry as a solution in itself and demand their immediate temporary rehabilitation after consultations with the protest committee. They insist that they will move out of the apartments only after their demands, including fresh rehabilitation with title deeds, are accepted.

“We had sought sanction for conducting a preliminary inquiry based on a basic verification. A team will be constituted to carry out the inquiry. We will seek the assistance of our engineers and even external expert advice,” Manoj Abraham, VACB director, told The Hindu.

Design flaws cited

The project was conceived during the tenure of V. Salim as GCDA chairman and was eventually commissioned during the tenure of K. Chandran Pillai. Mr. Pillai has since attributed the problems in the apartment complex to design flaws that were incompatible with the region’s climate and high temperatures. The steel-based structure, he said, had been approved by the Local Self-Government Department.

The contractor of the project, the Thrissur District Labour Contract Co-operative Society (TDLC), also cited design flaws, which they claimed were beyond what it could rectify. In 2025, the GCDA terminated the services of TDLC during the Defects Liability Period, a decision that the firm challenged in the Kerala High Court. In April 2025, IIT Madras recommended rectification measures to address the issues at a cost of ₹25 crore, which was way beyond the original construction cost. The recommendation has since been forwarded to the State government.

Kochi MLA Mohammed Shiyas said the amount assessed for rectification should be recovered from the contractor concerned and officials found responsible for the alleged corruption. Government servants found guilty should be terminated from service, he said.