THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state has not obtained the Centre’s permission before Life Mission and UAE-based humanitarian organisation Red Crescent entered into an agreement in the Wadakkancherry project, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan admitted on Thursday.“As far as I understand, special permission (from the Centre) is not required. It is needed only when an agreement is signed with the government of another country or the regional government of a foreign country,” Pinarayi told reporters.
However, he was quick to add that it was mandatory that the Centre should be ‘informed’ of such an agreement. When asked whether the Centre was informed, Pinarayi said it could be done at a later stage as well.Pinarayi’s clarification comes on a day when Vikas Swarup, secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, told a parliamentary panel that the state had not obtained the Centre’s permission. Swarup said such a permission was mandatory when a state enters into an agreement with a foreign country or agency.
Earlier in the day, Chief Secretary Vishwas Mehta had also clarified that the Centre’s permission was not obtained in the agreement with Red Crescent. He said this in a reply to a query by the Enforcement Directorate which is probing the alleged payment of kickbacks in connection with the project.The ED is currently probing the alleged payment of commission to the tune of `4.25 crore to gold smuggling accused Swapna Suresh and others by Unitac, the builders entrusted by Red Crescent to execute the project.
The MoU for apartment complex in Thrissur’s Wadakkancherry was signed between Life Mission and Red Crescent in July 2019. The project was meant for homeless, landless people. The `20-crore project envisaged construction of a complex worth `14.5 crore and a `5.5-crore health centre.
Chennithala seeks CBI probe
Thrissur: Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala on Thursday sought a CBI probe into the alleged corruption behind the Life Mission project at Charalpparambu in Wadakkanchery here, after visiting the site with a UDF delegation. The front staged a one-day strike at Wadakkanchery seeking a probe into the project. Chennithala said the building could collapse during a strong monsoon. “Poor families have been cheated in the name of housing facilities,” he alleged. KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran addressed the strike via a video conference and said the government was overflowing with corruption, all originating from the CMO.