Kerala Assembly: PWD Minister defends Uralungal contracts, promises to investigate any complaints
PWD Minister PK Basheer, while replying to questions from lawmakers during question hour in the Assembly, informed the House that there was no record of ULCCS being given work without following PWD work procedures. | Photo credit: special arrangement
The Kerala government on Monday made it clear that the Uralungal Cooperative Society Labor Contract (ULCCS) has been awarded the works of the Public Works Department (PWD) as per set procedures and practices.
PWD Minister PK Basheer, while replying to questions from lawmakers during question hour in the Assembly, informed the House that there was no record of ULCCS being given work without following PWD work procedures.
“If complaints about road works are forwarded to ULCCS, an investigation will be conducted and action will be taken,” the minister said.
He also assured that the concerns raised by the legislators regarding the work of the ULCCS and whether the previous government had done any favors for the ULCCs would also be looked into.
Currently, there are complaints that their work is being delayed due to workload. All are under investigation. If any irregularities are found, the government will take appropriate action, he said.
The written reply tabled in the House also said that under various Government Orders (GOs), ULCCS has priority in awarding works through e-tendering. According to the OC dated 13.11.1997 of the cooperative department and another OC dated 19.03.2004, if the rate quoted by ULCCS is 10% more than the rate quoted by other contractors, then the work may be sanctioned by the amount mentioned by the company.
Besides, as per various orders, companies have been exempted from payment of Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) and Security Deposit (Performance Guarantee) while participating in works. According to the ÚV dated 02/08/2008, the company can undertake and perform any amount of work. However, ULCCS has no particular priority in works carried out under the terms of tender of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) under the Public Works National Highways Division. However, the aforementioned government regulations apply to national highway works carried out from state funds for the disabled.
In addition, quality control is strictly observed in all works of the department, the minister said.
These are implemented according to the OZP handbook and the conditions of the Standard Bidding Document (SBD). Suppliers are invoiced based on quality control results. If any complaint is received about the quality of works, an inquiry will be conducted and action will be taken, he said.
Published – 29 Jun 2026 15:59 IST