Kerala orders an expert inquiry into the isolation wards built at 88 health centres

12 October 2026

Health Minister K Muraleedharan told the Kerala Assembly on 12 October 2026 that an expert team led by the Principal Secretary of the Health Department will investigate the isolation ward project. The project, sanctioned in July 2021 to set up 10-bed isolation wards, covered 88 health centres in its first phase at an estimated cost of ₹250.69 crore. As of 9 October, 33 isolation wards had been completed and handed over to hospitals; KIIFCON was carrying out work on 22 wards left incomplete by the original contractor, 28 were under construction and five sites faced hurdles. Each unit cost about ₹1.76 crore, made up of a ₹1.31 crore contract and ₹44.31 lakh for equipment. The minister said even the completed wards could not be used for patient care because of construction defects and the lack of facilities such as air-conditioning and toilets. He was replying to a submission by Kunnathunad MLA V P Sajeendran.