Ever since K G George made one of India's finest satires 'Panchavadi Palam' in 1984, the hilarious levels of corruption in the Public Works Department (PWD) has been part of common lore.

The film had caused the corrupt – politicians, officials and contractors – considerably more shame than had they found themselves in the middle of a busy road with their clothes taken off. Yet, it looks as if the PWD, like the proverbial donkey that had a tree growing out of its back, embraced its ugly reputation with shameless pride.

“An internal probe had found that at least Rs 1,500 crore was given out as bribes for transfers alone in the department annually during the former UDF government's tenure,” PWD minister G Sudhakaran told the Assembly on Wednesday. This works out to Rs 7500 crore in five years. At least one-third of the 7,000-plus PWD employees in the state are routinely transferred every year.

To put it in perspective, the state's PWD employees alone had coughed up as bribe an amount massive enough to realise a project as mammoth as the Vizhinjam project. Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport project is envisaged to cost Rs 7,525 crore.

“I am told that an executive engineer is willing to shell out two to five crore rupees to get a transfer to the roads section. They know that they can recoup the amount, and more, if they are part of a Rs 300 or Rs 400 crore project,” the minister said.

PWD's enduring shame

The PWD, and its functioning, was the subject of discussion in the Assembly on Wednesday. The speakers on the ruling side used the crumbling of the Palarivattom flyover to remind the opposition of what they called unbridled corruption in the PWD under their watch.

“The department was used as a money-minting machine for the Muslim League,” said CPM MLA K Ansalan. The opposition did not have any answers, none of the UDF speakers responded to the Palarivattom barbs. G Sudakaran's predecessor, V K Ebrahim Kunju of Muslim League, was absent for most part of the discussion.

The Palarivattom bridge that was commissioned in 2016, during the fag end of the UDF tenure, had developed extensive damage within a month of its commissioning.

Mukesh's road story

Actor M Mukesh, the CPM-backed independent, was at his sarcastic best. He departed from his prepared speech to tell a story. “I heard many of the members referring to the Palarivattom bridge. This reminds me of a story,” he began.

“This happened long ago in a place I don't want to reveal. A bridge was completed and the inauguration was scheduled. On the day before the commissioning of the bridge the contractor went to meet the minister. The minister was in an exuberant mood. He wanted a colourful and pompous reception to be organised for him. The contractor agreed, and then asked deferentially. “I am told that you will be throwing a coconut on the floor to mark the official inauguration.” “Of course,” the minister said.

“It is all fine sir, but please make sure that you throw the coconut softly. There is not enough cement on the bridge. I am not sure it can survive a coconut,” Mukesh said.

“Please don't think that I am trying to make a connection with anything that had happened recently. I was just telling a story,” he said, tongue firmly in cheek.

An IIT probe had revealed that the builders of Palarivattom bridge were dangerously economical with cement.

Palarivattom tragedy and after

The PWD minister said that the Palarivattom bridge would be reconstructed during the LDF government's tenure itself.

“If need be we will even dismantle the existing structure and begin constructing anew,” he said.

The failure of the bridge had also spurred the minister into action. “After what happened at Palarivattom, I had ordered the inspection of the 300-plus bridges that had begun construction after the LDF came to power,” Sudhakaran said. “I just cannot take any more risks,” he said.

Old is gold

Earlier, in 2017, the first-ever ‘Bridges Survey’ conducted by the PWD had found that 365 bridges in the state were in such grave condition that they required emergency maintenance. Of the 2,209 bridges in the state, only 606 bridges were found in fine condition. Amazingly, ten of them were more than 100 years old.

Take for instance the Nagampadom bridge in Kottayam. It is not 100, only 65. Even a controlled explosion by the Railways could not shake the bridge last May. Juxtapose it with Palarivattom bridge, which cracked up even before a breeze could pass over it.