StatesKeralam
Satheesan cancels ₹1 crore repair order for his own residence, Cliff House
The Keralam Chief Minister said the Public Works Department issued the order against his instructions and without telling his office, and asked the department's secretary to explain.
Key points
- V D Satheesan ordered a PWD repair order worth over ₹1 crore at Cliff House cancelled.
- He has asked the PWD Secretary for a report on why it was issued without informing his office.
- The department said the work followed a safety audit carried out in 2022.
Keralam Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Monday ordered the cancellation of repairs worth over ₹1 crore at Cliff House, his official residence in Thiruvananthapuram, saying the work had been approved behind his back.
The Public Works Department (PWD) had issued the order. In a statement, the Chief Minister’s office said it was “issued in contravention” of his instructions, and that Satheesan has asked the PWD Secretary for a report on why the order went out without informing the Chief Minister or his office.
A standing instruction
According to the statement, Satheesan had told officials soon after the Congress-led United Democratic Front came to power not to carry out unnecessary renovation or construction at the bungalow. The UDF government has been in office since 18 May.
The department has a different account of how the order came about. It said the repairs followed a safety audit carried out in 2022, when the previous Left Democratic Front government was in power.
Satheesan’s instructions now set the terms for any future work. No repairs are to be based on the previous government’s estimates, and only work that is genuinely necessary is to be done.
The statement did not say when the order was issued, whether any work had begun, or what the audit had flagged. The PWD Secretary’s report is expected to answer the first of those questions, and who signed off on the work.