Kerala Public Works Minister welcomes Gyanesh probe, says KSTP episode should serve as warning

Welcoming the Kerala government’s decision to conduct a preliminary survey of the 2006 road project under the Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP), State Public Works Minister PK Basheer on Tuesday said the controversy should not be seen as just a thing of the past but as a warning for the state’s big projects.

“Infrastructure projects including new highways, bypasses, flyovers, bridges and road upgrading schemes are being implemented on a massive scale. The KSTP episode should serve as a lesson in ensuring greater transparency and accountability,” Mr Basheer said.

In 2006, KSTP embarked on a ₹215 million World Bank-funded project to rehabilitate MC Road between Angamaly and Thiruvananthapuram. The work was then awarded to PATI-BEL, a joint venture between the Malaysian company and Bhageeratha Engineering. However, the Malaysian company’s project engineer, Lee See Been, reportedly raised several complaints during construction. He later returned to Malaysia and died by suicide.

An earlier probe

A vigilance investigation was then launched into the matter, but the investigation did not reach a conclusive result and several questions remained unanswered. The controversy has acquired renewed significance as Mr. Kumar was serving as Keralam’s PWD secretary at the time the incident took place. According to Mr. Basheer, there were reports of suicide notes allegedly left by Been that contained allegations against certain officials.

“The veracity of these allegations, the circumstances of the death and their possible connection with other evidence require legal scrutiny. All facts related to the controversy must be brought to light without political or personal bias,” he said.

Mr Basheer said the earlier vigilance inquiry also needed to be examined to find out how far it progressed, why it remained inconclusive, what findings it reached and if it was stopped at any stage, the reasons for doing so.

“Old files are not meant to gather dust in cupboards; they are sources from which we must draw administrative lessons for the future. At what stage in the project did problems arise? Who made the decisions and on what basis? What were the cost overruns? What caused the delays? What financial losses were incurred by the government and the public? We must find answers to these questions from the records,” he said.

Infrastructure development

Keralam is now witnessing a phase of massive infrastructure development, the Minister said. “As the scale of projects grows, accountability must grow with them. Transparency must increase along with the volume of public funds used, and monitoring mechanisms must be strengthened as the pace of development accelerates,” he said. The KSTP episode should therefore not be seen as a closed chapter but as an opportunity to make the public works system more transparent, efficient and accountable, Mr Basheer added.

The fresh probe was ordered by the Kerala government following a complaint seeking an inquiry into Mr Kumar’s alleged role in the case.

Published – 06 Oct 2026 20:55 IST