The Kerala government on Wednesday moved the High Court against the probe started by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the allegations on the Life Mission programme, a housing project of the state government. Calling the First Information Report (FIR) filed by the CBI “illegal”, the Pinarayi Vijayan government has asked the court to quash the same. The High Court will hear the petition on Thursday.
According to the legal advice that the state government received on the matter, the FIR could be quashed as it was illegal and that the government had no role in the matter. The state Cabinet, which met earlier in the day on Wednesday, discussed the issue and gave its nod to move the court.
It was on September 25 that the CBI registered a case of Foreign Contribution (Regulations) Act or FCRA violation in the Life Mission project and booked Santhosh Eapen, the owner of Unitac Builders and Developers, which built 140 apartments under the project in Thrissur's Wadakancherry. Senior IAS officer and the Life Mission Chief Executive Officer (CEO) UV Jose has been summoned to appear before the CBI with all the documents on October 5.
The CBI registered the FCRA violation case, aiming to probe the alleged corruption in the construction of a housing complex at Wadakkanchery in Thrissur district, for the people who lost their houses in the Kerala flood in 2018.
The officials of the Life Mission reportedly contended that the agreement for the construction was inked between the United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based non-governmental organisation Red Crescent (which provided funds for the project) and the Unitac Builders and Developers, which bagged the contract of the project.
It must be noted that the UAE Red Crescent and Life Mission CEO signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on July 11, 2019, agreeing to provide an amount of Rs 20 crore as funds to build houses and a hospital for women and children. However, according to reports, a sub-contract was signed between Unitac and allegedly the UAE Consular General to build 140 apartments under the Life Mission project in Wadakkanchery.
The Kerala government was criticised for accepting foreign aid without seeking permission from the Union government as per the FCRA.
In its plea to the court, the state claimed that it has no role in the irregularities and hence the FIR is illegal and should be quashed, it added.
The latest development comes a day after Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala alleged that the state government was planning to bring in an ordinance to ban the CBI. CM Pinarayi had, however, refuted this claim.
The Life Mission project, a pet project of the LDF government, was floated to build houses for the homeless and landless. One of its projects at Wadakkanchery came in the dock after Anil Akkara, a Congress legislator first raised questions about alleged FCRA violation.
The involvement of Swapna Suresh, a key accused of the controversial gold smuggling case and a former employee of the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram, in the project also surfaced after she gave a statement to investigation agencies, stating that she had received Rs 1 crore as commission for the project.
The CBI has booked and questioned Santhosh Eapen of Unitac Builders and Developers, the company that was given the contract to build the houses.
The Kerala government has, however, ordered a probe by Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau on the allegations.
IANS inputs