THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Vigilance and Anti-corruption Bureau (VACB) has given a clean chit to former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and former Finance Minister K M Mani in the alleged irregularities in the Karunya Benevolent Fund scheme during the previous UDF tenure.
The Vigilance decided to drop charges against the duo after completing a Quick Verification( QV). The QV report was submitted before the special vigilance court here late Saturday. The report will be considered by the court next month.
In the report, the Vigilance said the former ministers had no role in the alleged irregularities. However, the report pointed fingers at the role of some middlemen who 'exploited' the scheme's monetary benefits. The middlemen had made some serious irregularities by diverting the fund of Rs 5000/beneficiary allotted through the single-term treatment aid as part of the scheme, the report said. As per the scheme, the money has to be given to the beneficiaries.
The QV report was submitted after the court ordered a quick verification last November based on a petition was filed by a Malappuram native Krishnakumar alleging anomalies in the healthcare scheme. In the complaint, he alleged that the total income generated through Karunya lottery has not been given as treatment aid. Moreover, the financial aid was given to the undeserving people and there was a lack of transparency in selecting the beneficiaries, the complaint said.
Karunya Benevolent Fund, a scheme launched by previous UDF government, provides financial aid for poor people suffering from serious ailments like cancer, hemophilia, kidney and heart diseases and for palliative care by raising money through the Kerala lottery. The income generated through the sale of Karunya Lottery is exclusively devoted to extending financial assistance to the purpose.