Minister Riyas conducts flash inspection at PWD office, finds irregularities in attendance

Thiruvananthapuram: Public Works Department minister PA Mohamed Riyas conducted a flash inspection at the PWD building section assistant engineer’s office in Poojapura here on Monday. The minister paid a surprise visit after receiving complaints about irregular attendance of officials at the office.

It is reported that officials including Assistant Engineer were absent when the minister reached the office. Only two overseers were present there. Documents demanded by the minister were also not available at the office. After finding irregularities, the minister asked the Chief Engineer to report to the office immediately.
“There are many complaints against the PWD office. The public has been alleging that the employees are not available at the office to address their issues. As per the complaints, the office remains shut here. I decided to conduct a surprise inspection after receiving numerous complaints against this office. The issue should be examined in detail,” said the minister.

The minister checked the attendance register, movement register, daily cash register and casual leave register at the office. 

“ After examining the documents, I have confirmed that the complaints were genuine. Activities of various departments are carried out through this office. It is alleged that officials from other departments who visit this office also take a similar approach. Many employees are on long leave and some are absent for many days. Some staff leave the office after recording their attendance and return to the office after two days,” explained the minister.

Addressing the media here, the minister stated that strict action will be taken against the officials on grounds of negligence of duty.