KSEB under scrutiny: Vigilance uncovers major violations in contracts, meter reading

Thiruvananthapuram: Vigilance has found that the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is violating several rules, ranging from contractor appointments to the deployment of meter readers. Meter readers are required to be reassigned to different areas every six months to prevent undue influence from consumers. However, it was found that many have been working in the same area for more than three years.

Many offices have been using the same contractors for years. Bills are being altered without work being carried out as per the estimates. Contract-based vehicles are being misused, and leftover cables and other materials from completed works are not being properly stored.

At the Thripunithura Electrical Section office, contracts for 12 works were awarded to a single person. The handwriting on all the quotations submitted for these works was found to be identical. There is suspicion that one individual, with the support of certain officials, accepted multiple contracts under different names.

Vigilance Director Manoj Abraham said the department seriously views the corruption being carried out jointly by contractors and officials. He added that bank accounts and other financial details in the identified cases would be thoroughly examined.

However, the KSEB argues that these contracts relate to urgent repair works, for which tender procedures are impractical. Many sections reportedly do not get enough contractors, resulting in the same contractors handling work across multiple sections for years.

KSEB sources state that treating all of this as malpractice, as Vigilance has done, could adversely affect day-to-day operations in section offices.