Department of Public Works (Kerala)
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1823 |
| Preceding agencies |
|
| Headquarters | Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India |
| Minister responsible |
|
| Agency executive |
|
| Website | http://www.keralapwd.gov.in |
Kerala Public Works Department (KPWD) is a department under the government of the state of Kerala, India. It manages the construction and maintenance of civil structures owned by the government viz; government buildings, government owned hospitals (part of the public health system), roads, bridges etc. The KPWD was formed in 1956 following reorganization of states.
In Kochi, British Resident had a separate department called Public Works Commission to carry off construction works in British Cochin. The kingdom had its own Marmath Department since 1825, as a separate agency to monitor construction of roads and palaces.
In 1901, the Kingdoms of Travancore and Kochi agreed to have an unified PWD Code and a permanent Joint commission of PWD Engineers in both sides were formed. The Travancore Maramath was headed by a chief engineer, whereas it was a Diwan Peshkar (State Secretary) who headed Kochi Marmath.
In 1949, when United State of Travancore-Cochin was formed, both the Maramath Departments were merged and renamed as Kerala PWD. Over the years the department has grown substantially and now has 5 Chief Engineers, 20 Superintending Engineers, 76 Executive Engineers, 289 Assistant Executive Engineers, 639 Assistant Engineers and other supporting staff.
The department is headed by a senior minister of cabinet rank. Presently G.Sudhakaran, representing Ambalapuzha Constituency is the minister for PWD. The Minister is assisted by Secretary for Public Works who heads the secretariat functions. As a technical department, it has a council composed of Chief Engineers and technical advisors along with nominated representatives from economical and social spheres.
The Public Works Department have 5 wings, each headed by a Chief Engineer.
The Roads & Bridges wing and the Building & Local Works wing of the department have three circles each to supervise the execution of works at divisional level. Both the wings have one division at district level. The Buildings wing has also a Judicial circle exclusively for the supervision of construction works in Judicial sector. There is a Superintending Engineer for Electrical and an Executive Engineer for Electronics for advicing the related matters to the Chief Engineer Buildings Wing. The National Highway wing has three circles and eight divisions.
The execution of works is supervised and completed through the Executive Engineer. The construction works of roads, bridges, buildings, repairs, renovation and maintenance work thereof is looked after by each division under its territorial jurisdiction.
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Wikipedia