Corrosion of Army Towers: Consultant company alleges major corruption

KOCHI: Ajith Associates, a project consultant, has blamed the corruption of the Army Welfare Housing Organization (WHO) and the construction contract company for the corrosion of the massive army towers in Vyttila.

The serious allegations are contained in a letter sent by the company to AWHO Director Col. Subhash Raina on February 17, 2023. The contractor and project director are accused in the letter.

Prof BR Ajith, MD, Ajith Associates, has demanded a vigilance investigation and a scientific investigation. Shilpa Projects and Infrastructure in Kochi was selected as the construction contractor without the knowledge of the consultant.

"Irregularities by the contractor and the project director affected the quality of construction. The project director passed the bills for substandard works despite being pointed out several times. His signature was forced even for small bills. The final bill of Rs 120 crore was passed without his signature," Ajith alleged in the letter.

Their concerns and recommendations were not considered. Letters sent to AWHO headquarters pointing out all this were ignored.

Expelled for fraud; contractor makes project engineer chief

• The project engineer sacked by Ajith Associates for collusion with the contractor was made the project chief engineer by the contractor.
• Complaints against this were ignored by WHO. They had to fire some of their employees for succumbing to his influence.
• Cheap Chinese tiles were used against the contract