CM Vijayan brushes aside CAG report on purchase of PPE kits; greenlights brewery

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 23 A day after the Congress-led Opposition levelled grave corruption allegations against the way the Kerala government bought PPE kits during the Covid pandemic and over the sanction given to a controversial liquor company, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday denied all charges.

The Congress raised the PPE kits issue on the floor of the Assembly after the CAG report on this aspect was tabled during the ongoing session of the House.

However, CM Vijayan answering to the allegations on Thursday said the need of the hour during the pandemic was to save human lives and that was what they did then.

“At such times, it was necessary to act quickly and we did that! While the CAG report talks about figures, it was a committee which decided to go forward with the PPE kit purchase. One should see things in an overall perspective, especially the then grave emergency health situation,” said CM Vijayan.

Regarding the sanction given to the controversial firm Oasis Commercial Private Limited, whose top official was in jail in connection with the Delhi excise case, CM Vijayan said there is no system of inviting industries to set up in Kerala through a tendering process.

“There are brewery plants currently operating in our state. This new project is one which will bring in Rs 600 crore investment and provide direct jobs to 650 people and indirect jobs to over 2,000 people. The approval of the local panchayat is not needed as it’s the state government that gives the clearance.

“With regards to water being exploited, what’s wrong with providing water for new industries? We will go forward with this project and also if any other such projects come up,” said CM Vijayan.

Top Congress leaders like Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan and his predecessor Ramesh Chennithala have been raising these alleged corrupt deal issues on the floor of the Assembly.

These leaders said that in the CAG report it was pointed out that PPE kits which were available for Rs 550 per piece were not purchased and instead more expensive ones were bought at a cost of Rs 1,550 per kit, which caused a loss of Rs 10 crore to the government.

About the sanction given to Oasis to set up an ethanol plant, a multi-feed distillation unit, an Indian-made foreign liquor bottling unit, a brewery, a malt spirit plant, and a brandy/winery plant at Kanjikode on a 26-acre plot purchased two years ago, they said this was a blatant violation of all rules and regulations and against the interest of water-scarce Palakkad district.

Source: IANS