In a big setback to Kerala’s scam-beleaguered Congress Chief Minister Oommen Chandy just a day after polling was held for the crucial Assembly election, a Vigilance court in Thalassery, Kannur on Tuesday, issued instructions for a “quick verification” against him, bribery-accused Excise Minister K Babu and seven others in connection with the alleged corruption in the felling of a lakh trees from the project area of the yet-to-be-completed Kannur airport.
The case against Chandy, Babu and others including former Chief Secretary Jiji Thomson also pertains to the alleged graft in the handing over of land for the airport. As per the court order, the Deputy Superintendent of Police (Vigilance) in Thalassery is to carry out the quick verification and submit his report within a month.
As per the petition filed by one KV James of Perinkary in Kannur district, the Government had suffered losses amounting to several crores of rupees through the irregularities in the way the permission for felling the trees in the project area and the exchange of airport land was given and money had gone to the pockets of people in high places.
According to the petitioner, the Department of Environment had on July 19, 2013 given permission for felling 30,421 trees — including rubber trees — in the project area. However, officials submitted a note to the Cabinet 45 days before this date saying that permission had been granted for felling over 10,000 trees, the petition said.
This note, prepared by Finance Secretary VP Joy and Tom Jose, Principal Secretary, Aviation, had won the approval of a Cabinet meet, the petitioner said. The trees were felled and transported away reportedly by contractors from Puthuppally in Kottayam district, the native place of Chief Minister Chandy, and Perumbavoor in Ernakulam, Babu’s native district, he pointed out.
James also alleged that the Government had suffered losses to the tune of several crores of rupees as the value of land handed over to the airport company was not fixed as per the market rate and this had led to a lower value of the Government’s shares in the company, the Kannur International Airport limited (KIAl).
The Government had handed over to KIAl 547 acres of land in exchange for shares and another 70 acres at a rate of `100 per acre, which had led to huge losses to the Exchequer, the petitioner pointed out, adding that the transaction was carried out despite the objections raised by the then Revenue Secretary.
Chief Minister Chandy is already facing several corruption charges including those related to the infamous solar scam. Congress Minister Babu, known as a staunch Chandy-loyalist, is facing the charge of taking `10-crore bribe from the State’s bar owners.