KOTTAYAM: In a major setback to Transport Minister Thomas Chandy, the Court of Enquiry Commissioner and Special Judge (Vigilance Court), Kottayam, on Saturday ordered a preliminary enquiry into the allegation he reclaimed land for constructing a road to his resort, violating Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008.
Vigilance judge V Dilip pronounced the order following a complaint filed by Janata Dal (S) Alappuzha district secretary M K Subhash. The court observed the points raised by the petitioner were of serious nature and directed the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau to probe into the construction of Valiyakulam-Zero Jetty Road, which leads to his Lake Palace Resort in Alappuzha, and submit a report before December 4.
Earlier, the court had a sought a report from the government on the petition regarding illegal reclamation of land and its deadline ended on Saturday.
However, government pleader Rajmohan R Pillai sought more time for filing the report saying it was awaiting legal advice from State Advocate General on as many as five complaints against Chandy. The court observed there was no need to wait for the AG's advice for conducting a preliminary inquiry.
It will be the first court inquiry against Chandy following a set of allegations levelled against him, including illegal filling of land and encroachment in Marthandam Kayal.
According to the complainant, Chandy constructed the road utilising the MP fund, which incurred a loss of Rs 65 lakh to the public exchequer.
"The one-kilometre road was constructed reclaiming land without the permission of any governmental agency, which was against the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008 regulations. Moreover, the road was constructed using the funds of MPs P J Kurien and K E Ismail (Rs 30 lakh) and Harbour Engineering Department (Rs 35 lakh). However, since the reclamation was illegal, the land has to be converted to its previous status, which would lead to the loss of entire fund. It would come in the category of misuse of power and public fund," said Subhash.