57-412: 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 Residents had
114-656: A Senior Finance Officer and supported by technical and other ministerial staff. This wing have field offices with Circle offices at regional level, division offices at district level, sub-division offices at taluk level and Section offices at the lowest level. There are three Circle offices under the roads wing namely south circle, Central circle and North circle each headed by a Superintending Engineer. Under each Circle offices there are division offices headed by an Executive Engineer. The sub-division offices are headed by Assistant Executive Engineer and Section offices are headed by Assistant Engineer. PWD roads constitute 15 per cent of
171-462: A Senior Finance Officer supported by technical and non-technical staff. The organisational structure of buildings wing is as below Apart from the regular field offices like circle, division, sub-division and section offices, the following additional offices also works under the Buildings wing Projects wing is formed to execute externally aided projects and specialised projects. Currently this wing
228-441: A key industry. Though it tried to nationalize Kerala Tours Limited, it soon fell into legal issues. This resulted in the government to think starting a new entity known as Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) IN 1966. Started as a government department, KTDC became a separate commercial entity by the 1970s. Several premium guest houses of Kerala Government were identified and converted into hotel brands. Lt. Col. G. V. Raja
285-576: A mutual agreement among member parties. The reshuffling is in accordance with a pre-election agreement within the Left Democratic Front (LDF) coalition. Transport Minister Antony Raju and Ports and Archaeology Minister Ahmed Devarkovil resigned, leading to the appointment of K.B Ganesh Kumar as the new Minister for Transport and Kadannappalli Ramachandran as the Minister for Registration and Archeology. The legislature comprises
342-865: A part of the initiative "Puthiya kalam Puthiya nirmanam". This wing is formed based on the Road and Bridge Maintenance Policy of the Government. This wing is headed by a Chief Engineer (Bridges) with supporting staff. This wing is having its headquarters at Thiruvananthapuram with two circle offices seven division offices fourteen subdivisions and forty section offices. A total number of 2768 bridges are being maintained by PWD Bridges Wing, Kerala out of which 427 bridges are in State Highways and 1938 are in Major District Roads/ Other District Roads. National Highways wing of
399-599: A private entity under the Travancore royal family. For more than 20 years since Independence, Kerala trend to ignore tourism as a key industry, leaving KTL and other private players to lead the role. In the 1960s, KTL struck gold, by collaborating with Thomas Cook and started popularizing Kovalam in western countries which started the advent of hippie culture in Kovalam Beach. The strong inflow of tourists into Kovalam, started Kerala government to consider tourism as
456-928: A project preparation unit with sufficient staff strength. The Design wing is functioning with headquarters in the office of the Chief Engineer (Design) in Thiruvananthapuram known as Chief Design Office (CDO). In addition there are Regional Design Offices (RDO) at Eranakulum and Kozhikode. Apart from this there is a full-fledged investigation and quality control wing under the Design wing which is having regional I&QC laboratories at Thiruvananthapuram, Eranakulam and Kozhikode with sufficient district level quality control laboratories. The Kerala Highway Research Institute (KHRI) at Thiruvananthapuram carries out research & quality control works and gives advice and guidance for advanced construction works undertaken by
513-482: A refreshment center, a sovenior shop, cloakroom, rest rooms, information center with ATM facility, Pharmacy etc. assist road travellers for a break and quick refreshment. The tourism ministry is planning to open and operate 20 TAB units in their first stage of TAB project implementation. TAB is a Private-Public Partnership program with individuals owning the facility, while KTDC assisting in branding and promotion. KTDC sells packaged tours of Kerala across world, through
570-529: 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
627-732: A strong presence, are generally inclined to Left parties, though several times the UDF has won. The CPI(M) led LDF did a clean sweep of 11–0 over UDF and NDA in Kollam district during 2016 Local body election . The largest Communist party is the CPIM and the second largest is the CPI . The Indian National Congress , which leads the UDF coalition, has had a very strong presence in Kerala since pre-Independence days. The Congress party has great popularity in
SECTION 10
#1732779596944684-477: Is a public sector undertaking that conducts and regulates the tourism activities in the Indian state of Kerala . The KTDC is headquartered at Thiruvananthapuram and has offices across all the districts of Kerala . The agency also operates hotels, resorts, and tourist rest houses in key locations in the state. Its official slogan is "Official host to God's own country." It is one of the most profitable ventures of
741-629: Is a 5 star convention center facility located in Bolgatty Island Resort in Kochi is the flagship project under this category. The Events center features a 1000-seater convention hall, a 15-acre open grounds for exhibitions and open air events. GV Raja International Convention Center in Kovalam, Trivandrum is another major facility. Take a Break (TAB) is the latest venture from KTDC, aiming to create roadside multi-utility kiosks that have
798-616: Is executing the World Bank aided Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP). Administration head of this wing will be the IAS officer (Project Director) and technically headed by a Chief Engineer. The main aim of this wing is upgradation of the State Highway. The organisational structure of Projects wing is as below Apart from the regular field offices like two circle and four division offices, the following additional offices also works under
855-489: Is headed by a Chief Engineer (Road Maintenance) with supporting staff. This wing is having its headquarters at Thiruvananthapuram with seven division offices fourteen subdivisions. The organisational setup of the Road Maintenance wing is as shown below The Architectural wing is responsible for the preparation and finalization of all architectural designs and drawings for buildings and similar works to be executed by
912-456: Is headed by a Chief Engineer and deals with matters related to the general administration and human resources management pertains to the whole department. Establishment matters, human resource development, Information technology & e-Governance related matters and internal vigilance are the main functions of this wing. Administration wing functions from the head office at Thiruvananthapuram and there are no sub-offices for this wing at any parts of
969-437: Is headed by a senior minister of cabinet rank. Presently P. A. Mohammed Riyas , representing Beypore Constituency is the minister for PWD. The Minister is assisted by a senior IAS officer, 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. This wing
1026-465: Is the elephant , and the government emblem has two elephants in it. The state bird is the great Indian hornbill ( ML :മലമ്പുഴക്കി വേഴാമ്പല്). The state flower is the golden shower ( ML :കണിക്കൊന്ന), and the state tree is the coconut . The state fish is the pearlspot or karimeen (കരിമീന്). Elections to the state assembly are held every five years. Elections are generally held for Parliament , State assembly and regional panchayats . Due to
1083-543: Is the present governor. The governor enjoys many different types of powers: The incumbent chief minister of Kerala is serving his second consecutive term, and was sworn into power on 20 May 2021. The oath-taking ceremony was held at the Central Stadium . The Kerala Governor administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new members. In December 2023, the Kerala Cabinet underwent a reshuffle as part of
1140-532: The 2021 Kerala Legislative Assembly election and selected members in all the Corporations, several Municipal Councils and a large number of Local Panchayats. The party enjoys popularity in the districts of Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod . Other popular regional parties are: Kerala was declared as the first complete digitally administered state of India on 27 February 2016. The India Corruption Survey 2019 by Transparency International declared Kerala
1197-468: The Anglo-Indian community. The elected members select one of its own members as its chairman who is called the speaker . The speaker is assisted by the deputy speaker who is also elected by the members. The conduct of a meeting in the house is the responsibility of the speaker. The main function of the assembly is to pass laws and rules. Every bill passed by the house has to be finally approved by
SECTION 20
#17327795969441254-655: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) -led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Indian National Congress -led United Democratic Front (UDF) since late 1970s. These two coalitions have alternated in power since 1982, although this pattern was broken in 2021. According to the 2021 Kerala Legislative Assembly election , the LDF has a majority in the state assembly (99/140). The political alliance has strongly stabilised and, with rare exceptions, most of
1311-579: The Kerala Government , is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian state of Kerala . The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision-making committee, known as the cabinet . Ministers of the Kerala government are responsible to the Kerala Legislative Assembly ; they make statements in
1368-589: The Thrissur , Ernakulam , Kottayam , Pathanamthitta and Thiruvananthapuram regions, whereas it has a strong influence in some parts of Idukki regions. The Bharatiya Janata Party (the Party that currently leads the Government of India ) is also active in Kerala, but is not part of either coalition. It has only one elected Parliament member from Thrissur , and has lost its one Legislative Assembly member in
1425-555: The Architectural wing is as shown below The following organisations are functioning under the Department. PWD also have several Tourist Bungalows located in various important tourist destinations, available for tourists for daily rent, though the government has started the process of handing over several TBs to KTDC . Government of Kerala The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK ), also known as
1482-540: The Finance and Law Departments) are commonly referred to as Administrative Departments and are referred to as Administrative Secretariat collectively for administrative convenience and in light of the functions that are distributed among them. The Secretaries in charge of various departments are typically All India Service officers who are members of the Indian Administrative Service and may have
1539-635: The Governor. The present Chief Minister is Pinarayi Vijayan , who took office on 25 May 2016. Generally, the winning party decides the chief minister. In many cases, the party focuses a chief ministerial candidate during the election. The Council of Ministers, which answers to the Legislative Assembly, has its members appointed by the Governor; the appointments receive input from the Chief Minister. They are collectively responsible to
1596-506: The Kerala government. Kerala was a relatively unknown state among tourist circles until the early 1960s. The first initiative to popularize Kerala as a tourist destination was undertaken by Travancore 's Prince Consort Col. Godavarma Raja (husband of the then Queen of Travancore) started Kerala Tours Limited to popularize key tourist locations in Travancore Kingdom. When Travancore merged with India, Kerala Tours Limited became
1653-520: The National Highway Authority of India(NHAI) as part of the four/six laning programme of MoRTH. The buildings wing deals with the planning, project preparation, construction, maintenance and arrangement of works including water supply, electrification and electronic works of public buildings. The headquarters of buildings wing is at Thiruvananthapuram and is under the control of a Chief Engineer assisted by Deputy Chief Engineer and
1710-758: The Projects wing Design wing of PWD deals with the design, research, investigation and quality control aspects of various infrastructure projects and is headed by a Chief Engineer. Chief Engineer is assisted by the Director (Research & Quality Control), Director (Buildings) and Director (Highways) in the design and quality control aspects. At present, the department is having specialised units for structural design of buildings, design of bridges, design of highways, Geotechnical engineering unit, Environmental engineering unit, MEP design unit for Building services (Electrical design, Plumbing design and HVAC design) and
1767-559: The Public Works Department. Though primarily intended for the Buildings branch, the assistance of Architectural wing is taken for architectural designs in the other areas of construction such as bridges, highway structures, landscaping and urban beautification works etc. This wing headed by a Chief Architect and supported by other Architects having its main office in Thiruvananthapuram . There are two regional offices also at Ernakulam and Kozhikode. The organizational setup of
Kerala Public Works Department - Misplaced Pages Continue
1824-462: The State PWD was formed for the maintenance and upkeep of National Highways entrusted to State PWD in accordance with NH Act 1956 by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways(MoRTH), Government of India. There are 11 National Highways in Kerala with a total length of 1781.36 km and of which 1540.56 km of NH is currently maintained by the State PWD. The remaining 240.8 km is currently with
1881-451: The State. The following are the main sections under the administration wing. Roads wing deals with the planning, project preparation, construction, maintenance and arrangement of works of all State Highways and Major District Roads under the State. This wing is having its headquarters at Thiruvananthapuram and is under the control of a Chief Engineer who is assisted by a Deputy Chief Engineer,
1938-464: The accession of Malabar into Travancore-Cochin, the state of Kerala was formed in 1957. During this time, the royal coat of arms of the Travancore kingdom was modified by placing the " Lion Capital of Ashoka " on top of the imperial conch. The Travancore Royal Family uses the erstwhile Royal Coat of Arms of Travancore today, whereas Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple of Trivandrum uses only the imperial conch crest as its coat of arms. The state animal of Kerala
1995-431: The assembly and take questions from members of the assembly. The government is dependent on Kerala Legislative Assembly to make primary legislation . Legislative assembly elections are held every five years to elect a new assembly, unless there is a successful vote of no confidence in the government or a two-thirds vote for a snap election in the assembly, in which case an election may be held sooner. After an election,
2052-517: The coalition partners maintain loyalty to the alliance. As a result of this, power has alternated between these two fronts since 1979. In terms of individual parties, the state has strong leanings towards socialism and thus Communist parties have made strong inroads in Kerala. The Malabar region, particularly Kannur and Palakkad , are considered the heartland of the Communist parties. The Kollam and Alapuzha districts, where trade unions have
2109-423: The department. KHRI has well established laboratories for Soil Mechanics and Foundation Division, Concrete Division, Traffic Division and Flexible Pavement Division. Road Maintenance wing is formed for maintaining various types of roads under the control of Kerala PWD through the adoption of new technologies and methods. This wing is formed based on the Road and Bridge Maintenance Policy of the Government. This wing
2166-493: The government departments, though some cabinet positions are sinecures to a greater or lesser degree. Like in other Indian states, the executive arm of the state is responsible for the day-to-day management of the state. It consists of the governor, the chief minister and the Council of Ministers. The chief minister and the council of ministers also have been appointed by the governor. The governor summons prorogues and dissolves
2223-414: The governor and the legislative assembly, which is the highest political organ in the state. The governor has the power to summon the assembly or to close the same. All members of the legislative assembly are directly elected, normally once in every five years by the eligible voters who are above 18 years of age. The current assembly consists of 140 elected members and one member nominated by the governor from
2280-500: The governor before it becomes applicable. The normal term of the legislative assembly is five years from the date appointed for its first meeting. But while a proclamation of state of emergency is in operation, the said period will be extended by Parliament by Laws for a period not exceeding one year at a time. For administrative convenience, Kerala State has been divided into 14 districts, 27 revenue divisions, 75 taluks, 152 CD blocks, and 1453 revenue villages. For local governance,
2337-416: The governor selects as chief minister the leader of the party most likely to command the confidence of the assembly, usually by possessing a majority of MLAs. Under the Indian constitution , executive authority lies with the governor, although this authority is exercised only by, or on the advice of, the chief minister and the cabinet. In most cases, the cabinet members exercise power directly as leaders of
Kerala Public Works Department - Misplaced Pages Continue
2394-626: The grassroots level. Line departments (field departments) which are distinct from the Secretariat but operate under almost the same name as the Secretariat dept are commonly known as Directorates and Commissionerates. The Kerala State Emblem is a derivative version of the royal coat of arms of the Kingdom of Travancore . The state emblem symbolises two elephants guarding the Imperial Shanku , or conch, in its imperial crest. This crest
2451-484: The large numbers of eligible voters , over 21 million , elections are usually held on several dates. Like all other Indian states, the minimum age of registration of a voter is 18 years. Kerala has a unique position in India as one of the most politicised states. It has the nation's largest politically aware population, which actively participates in state politics. Politics in Kerala is dominated by two political fronts:
2508-566: The least-corrupt state in India. The state topped in the country to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals according to the annual report of NITI Aayog published in 2019. The Public Affairs Index-2020 released by the Public Affairs Centre, India, designated Kerala as the best governed Indian state. Kerala Tourism Development Corporation Kerala Tourism Development Corporation ( KTDC )
2565-582: The legislative assembly of the State. Generally, the winning party and its chief minister chooses the ministers list and submit the list for the Governor's approval. The governor is appointed by the President for a term of five years. The executive and legislative powers lie with the Chief Minister and his council of ministers, who are appointed by the governor. The governors of the states and territories of India have similar powers and functions at
2622-423: The legislature. He can close the legislative assembly on the recommendation of the chief minister. Judiciary has been separated from the executive in Kerala like other Indian states. The executive authority is headed by the Chief Minister of Kerala, who is the de facto head of state and is vested with most of the executive powers; the Legislative Assembly's majority party leader is appointed to this position by
2679-625: The police for damaging public property, criminal intimidation and using filthy language . The attacks came on the same day when two women entered Sabarimala after the constitutional right granted by the Supreme court. KTDC owns more than 40 properties ranging from heritage five-star resorts to budget accommodation, managed under five brands in hotel category and 2 in non hotel hospitality category. KTDC owns 3 flagship properties known for its historical importance. KTDC has 7 resort styled hotel properties aiming for leisure travellers. All properties in
2736-469: The premium range are individually branded . KTDC has three-star "value plus" range hotels across five districts of Kerala. Most of the hotels are designed to cater business and upper-segment family market. Each value plus hotel property is themed around its location. Tamarind Easy is a series of 15 budget hotels spread across Kerala, to cater to budget tourists. Major cities including Kollam , Alappuzha , Thrissur and Kannur have Tamarind hotels. KTDC
2793-507: The rank of Additional Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary , or Secretary. In addition to the Secretariat department, the State Government operates various field departments that function under the purview of their respective Secretariat department. These field departments form an integral part of the administrative structure, working in conjunction with the Secretariat to effectively implement government policies and initiatives at
2850-523: The state has 941 gram panchayats, 152 block panchayats, 14 district panchayats, 6 corporations , and 87 municipalities. The business of the state government is transacted through the various secretariat departments based on the rules of business. Each department consists of secretary to the government, who is the official head of the department and such other deputy secretaries, under secretaries, junior secretaries, officers, and staffs subordinate to him/her. The Chief secretary superintending control over
2907-469: The state level as that of the president of India at the national level. Only Indian citizens above 35 years of age are eligible for appointment. Governors discharge all constitutional functions, such as the appointment of the chief minister, sending reports to the president about failure of constitutional machinery in a state, or with respect to issues relating to the assent to a bill passed by legislature, exercise or their own opinion. Arif Mohammad Khan
SECTION 50
#17327795969442964-429: The total road network in the State carrying which carries nearly 80 per cent of the total road traffic within the State. The total length of roads maintained by Roads Wing is 29109.68 km out of which 4127.74 km is State Highways and 24975.34 km is Major District Roads (MDRs) . Bridges wing is formed exclusively for the construction and maintenance of various types of bridges under Kerala PWD on 27.03.2018 as
3021-518: The whole secretariat and staff attached to the ministers. The department is further divided into sections, each of which is under the charge of a section officer. Apart from these sections, dealing with the subjects allotted to them, there are other offices sections, assigned with specific duties. When there is more than one secretary in a department, there shall be a clear separation of work. At present there are 44 Secretariat Departments as below: Out of these 44 Secretariat Departments, 42 (aside from
3078-783: Was also the President of Tourism Promotion Council of Kerala. He was the main architect in developing Kovalam as an international tourist spot. On the early morning of 2 January 2019, Ten members belonging to the Hindu Munnani entered the Kerala House hotel belonging to the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation in the Thousand Lights area, Chennai and smashed the window panes of the hotel. Six members were said to be arrested by
3135-553: 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 8 Chief Engineers, 25 Superintending Engineers, 76 Executive Engineers, 289 Assistant Executive Engineers, 639 Assistant Engineers and other supporting staff. The department
3192-515: Was one of the first hospitality chains in India to start series of motels across major state and national highways. The motels are branded as Aaram, which are designed as roadside multi-cuisine restaurants. Every Aaram has a large restaurant, rest rooms and many motels have dormitories as well as a medical center. A few designated Aarams do have beer parlors which serves limited alcohol drinks as well as beer. KTDC manages 2 properties under Non Hotel Hospitality category. The Bolgatty Events Center which
3249-441: Was the insignia of Lord Sree Padmanabha (a form of Lord Vishnu) - the national deity of Travancore. Shanku was considered one of the common emblems of a majority of the Kerala feudal kingdoms. The Kingdom of Cochin and Zamorin's Malabar also had conch as state emblems. When the kingdoms of Cochin and Travancore merged in 1949, for a brief period, the crest carried a wheel or chakra in the centre with Shanku on top of it. With
#943056