Surprised by CAG report on Vizhinjam, welcome look into issues raised: Chandy
Thiruvananthapuram, May 24 (IANS) Noting the CAG report, which cited faults in the Vizhinjam port project agreement, may not have studied all documents, Kerala's former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Wednesday welcomed his successor Pinarayi Vijayan saying that the government auditor's remarks would be looked into.
"Do not know how the CAG has come out with certain remarks, which are contrary to the facts of the agreement. But, I have heard that Vijayan saying that it would be looked into as the remarks of a serious nature. I fully welcome it and I request Vijayan to do it at the earliest and without delay," Chandy told reporters here.
The CAG report, tabled in the assembly on Tuesday, finds faults in the agreement, but Chandy said it appears that the CAG could have possibly not looked into it with all the supporting documents.
"We followed the Planning Commission of India's guidelines in the agreement. Moreover the government order which my government came out with in 2014 clearly highlights each and every aspect. And most importantly there has been no change effected in the agreement after we put up the pre-bid qualifying conditions," he added.
Chandy also said he does not know why the CAG failed to give the state government a chance to appear before it.
"The process of CAG report is the assembly's Public Accounts Committee will look into it, but then it could be delayed. And now I welcome Vijayan's statement that they will have a relook into it. This project is hugely beneficial for Kerala and the state interest was not compromised at all," he added.
The Chandy government in 2015 inked the agreement for the Rs 7,525 crore Vizhinjam project with Adani Ports, which was the lone bidder and sought Rs 1,635 crore as grant for it. It had committed that the first phase of the port would be operational in 1,000 days, from the date of the commencement of work that began in 2015.
According to the agreement, Adani would operate the port for 40 years, extendable by 20 more years, while the state government would get a portion of the revenue from the port after 15 years.
Chandy noted that this this dream port project of Kerala became a reality after 25 years and only on the fifth attempt. "On four previous occasions starting from 1991 and in successive governments of K.Karunakaran, A.K. Antony, myself in 2005, and V.S. Achuthanandan failed to find a port builder...," he said.
Incidentally, Achuthanandan on Monday had demanded a white paper on the project, saying the agreement is "not in the interest of Kerala".
Raising the issue through a submission in the assembly, the veteran Communist Party of India-Marxist leader said that just because the Chandy government went ahead and placed this project before Adani Ports, there is need for a re-look at the agreement.
The proposed Vizhinjam Port is to be completed in three phases. Once completed, the port would enable ships with a capacity of even 18,000 TEU (20-feet equivalent units) to dock.
The proposed port, located close to the busy international shipping route, is envisaged to handle 4.1 million containers annually.
--IANS
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