THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:After the Vizhinjam port project suffered a setback on Friday, former Ports Minister V Surendran Pillai on Saturday called for a comprehensive probe into the situation which was termed as a sabotage.
“Why did the three companies - Adani Ports, Essar Ports and a consortium of Srei Infrastructure and OHL, which took active participation in the pre-bid procedures by spending close to Rs two crore, backed out from the tendering process? Is it the ramification of interventions from the part of the State Government or any port company? Or is it because the government failed to clarify the doubts of the companies?” he asked.
Surendran Pillai went on to bring the Minister of State for Shipping Pon Radhakrishnan and Union Shipping Ministry under the shadow of suspicion for their purported interventions which have led to the present situation. “The State Govt should conduct a comprehensive probe into the issue,” he said.The former minister said that the previous LDF Government had proposed the ‘Landlord’ model for the development of the port. However, the UDF Government sabotaged the idea by calling it non-feasible.
“The UDF Govt should have taken the companies into confidence by sticking to the ‘Landlord’ model in which the govt held financial responsibility,” he said.