KOCHI: Former Kochi mayor Tony Chammany alleged that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is the godfather of Zonta Infratech and was instrumental in the company getting contracts for waste management in Kozhikode, Kollam, and Kochi.
At the press conference held on Wednesday at the DCC office, Chammany said that the chief minister met with representatives of the German solid waste management company, Zonta Global Infra GmbH, during his visit to the Netherlands in 2019.
He pointed out that the meeting took place at the time when tenders for the waste-to-energy plants were called in the state and that Zonta was awarded the tender as a single bidder in Kozhikode, Kollam, and Kochi following the chief minister’s visit.
“The chief minister met the representatives of Zonta during his visits to the Netherlands between May 8 and 12, 2019. Along with him, the Chief Secretary, LSGD Secretary, and Indian Ambassador to the Netherlands, along with directors Dennis Eappen and Peter Bauer of Zonta. It is mysterious that CM held a meeting with them and Zonta wins the tender for three projects in Kerala,” he alleged.
Chammny also displayed a photo of the CM meeting the Zonta representatives along with other officials and said that the Chief Minister must explain why he met with the company before the firm received the contract. “In whose interest was KSIDC entrusted with the tender process for setting up a waste-to-energy plant, bypassing the local bodies that are supposed to move ahead with the project. It is suspicious that Zonta won the contracts two days after the meeting with CM,” he said.
Chammany also said that the government should withdraw the decision to entrust KSIDC with the responsibility of receiving tenders for setting up the waste-to-energy plant, and the tender must be completed under the supervision of the Kerala High Court. He also demanded a CBI inquiry into the awarding of tenders to Zonta in Kochi, Kozhikode, and Kollam.