Health Minister K. Muraleedharan seeks a vigilance probe into the 270 crore rupee surgical block at Kottayam Medical College

5 November 2026

Health and Devaswom Minister K. Muraleedharan has written to Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala asking for a vigilance probe into the construction of the new surgical block at the Kottayam Government Medical College, built at a cost of 270 crore rupees. The letter asks the inquiry to look at irregularities in the work, technical lapses, failures of supervision and financial irregularities. The block was opened early this year, and the ceiling has come down several times since, with serious defects also reported in the civil, plumbing and electrical work. The construction contract was given to Jathan Construction, and the Minister's letter raises the question of work passed on to other agencies. He has also asked the Additional Chief Secretary of the Health Department to set up a technical committee to examine whether the building is structurally safe and to take urgent remedial steps. The Minister wants both the inquiry and the technical examination completed quickly and a report placed before him.