KOCHI: Kerala’s special representative in New Delhi and former Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman, Prof K V Thomas, has strongly countered the allegations made by Congress leader and current PAC chairman K C Venugopal regarding irregularities in the awarding of sub-contracts for the NH66 development. Thomas said such accusations risk undermining the credibility of a major national infrastructure project.
Prof Thomas, a veteran parliamentarian who once headed the PAC, said that if someone were to claim the committee was delaying or obstructing the dream project of national highway development in Kerala, “they cannot be entirely blamed.”
However, he clarified that the PAC chairperson does not wield unilateral authority. “The PAC submits its decisions unanimously and only with the Speaker’s consent to Parliament. It is Parliament that decides the course of action, based on the CAG’s recommendations that the committee deliberated upon,” he said, in a statement here.
Distinguishing the current scenario from previous instances, Prof Thomas said, “During my tenure as PAC chairman, I made a statement about summoning the Prime Minister in the context of demonetisation and GST implementation, both of which were done without prior Parliamentary knowledge. But even then, we could not proceed without the committee's consensus and the Speaker's permission. Eventually, we summoned the RBI Governor instead, and the report was submitted to Parliament accordingly.”
Prof Thomas dismissed any notion that the PAC chairman could, on their own, call in the Prime Minister, emphasising the procedural checks in place.
Referring to the recent incidents of partial collapses on some stretches of the under-construction NH66, Prof Thomas reiterated that responsibility for the highway’s construction and rectification lies squarely with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). “This has already been clarified by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari. When the Kerala Chief Minister met the minister in Delhi, he conveyed the state’s stand — that the project must be completed and dedicated to the public by the end of 2025.”
Prof Thomas’s comments come as a strong defence of both the national project and the institutional process, in the wake of growing political heat and public concern over quality issues emerging from the NH66 construction.