Kerala Public Works Department (KPWD) is a department under the state government of Kerala, India. Manages the construction and maintenance of civilian structures owned by the government; government buildings, public hospitals (part of the public health system), roads, bridges, etc. The KPWD was formed in 1956 following the reorganisation of the states.
In Kochi, British resident had a separate department called Public Works Commission to carry out construction works in British Cochin. The Kingdom had its own Marmath Department since 1825, as a separate agency to oversee the construction of roads and palaces.
In 1901, the Kingdoms of Travancore and Kochi agreed to have a unified PWD Code and a permanent Joint Commission of PWD Engineers on both sides were formed. The Travancore Maramath was headed by Chief Engineer while he was a Diwan Peshkar (Secretary of State) who headed Kochi Marmath.
In 1949, when the United State of Travancore-Cochin was formed, both departments of Maramath were merged and renamed as PWD of Kerala. Over the years, the department has grown substantially and now has 5 chief engineers, 20 Superintendent engineers, 76 executive engineers, 289 auxiliary executive engineers, 639 auxiliary engineers and other support staff.
