ALAPPUZHA: With the Vigilance Court ordering a preliminary enquiry(PE) against Transport Minister Thomas Chandy on the issue of alleged encroachment of government land and violation of Kerala Conservation of Paddy and Wetland Act, Chandy’s continuation in the state Cabinet could well prove untenable. Also, the court order is a major setback to the LDF Government which has turned a deaf ear to the Opposition’s calls for his ouster.
The court passed the order on a plea from M K Subhash, a Kottayam-based lawyer who stated the findings made by District Collector T V Anupama and her report to the Revenue Department substantiated the violations of Wetland Act and misuse of government funds.
The Valiyakulam -Zero Jetty Road’s construction and tarring were carried out in violation of the Wetland Act. The MLA and MP funds were utilised for the construction of the one km road. The main beneficiary of the road is the Lake Palace Resort owned by the minister and his family members, the petitioner had contended.
“The road was constructed on a war footing. The funds of people’s representatives were utilised for the road construction. Several roads in the Kuttanad area are in a sorry state, but the Zero Jetty Road construction and its tarring was done at tremendous speed. The construction also violated after the Wetland Act. The tarring was done right up to the resort’s gateway. The width of the road is also more than the width of the farm road leading up to the resort. Later, the width has reduced to below four metres. These kinds of violations are evident in the road’s construction,” said Subhash.
“ The Collector had also submitted her report detailing all these facts and the Vigilance Court was fully convinced. So the court ordered the PE,” he said.DCC chief M Liju said, “The Vigilance Court order is a major setback to Chief Minister and the ruling CPM since they have been shielding Chandy. The state government was also hesitant to initiate action against the minister based on the Collector’s report.
The Collector had submitted the report with all documents including satellite images of the property filled by the resort owners. The Revenue Minister and his party (CPI) had come out against Chandy , but they could do precious little on account of the stand taken by the Chief Minister.”Meanwhile, despite growing calls for his resignation, Chandy remained defiant insisting he had done nothing wrong.