Separate design wing under consideration for works taken up by LSGD in Keralam

The State government plans to set up a new in-house design wing for the Local Self-Government department, modelled on the Public Works department (PWD), considering the delay in getting designs done by external agencies or approved engineering colleges. Since the number of construction works taken up under the LSGD are more, the department is considering the setting up of a design wing for investigation, design, soil investigation and technical investigation in a timebound manner. Currently, these activities are either carried out by external agencies or engineering colleges.

A technical committee constituted by the State government had earlier recommended new systems for overseeing quality, design and environmental aspects as part of several measures to strengthen the engineering wing of the LSGD. The committee headed by K. Sundar, retired Chief Engineer of the PWD, was constituted to bring more efficiency into the functioning of the LSGD Engineering wing.

The proposed State-level mechanism will likely be headed by the Chief Engineer, while at the district-level, it will be headed by the Superintending Engineer. They will coordinate the design, quality control, internal audit and vetting of all the works taken up under the department.