The Safe Kerala project of the Left government continues to be a point of contention, with Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan alleging that deals for installing AI-enabled traffic surveillance cameras across the state involved corruption to the tune of Rs 100 crore. Speaking at a press meeting at the Congress office, Satheesan claimed that the tender amount of Rs 151 crore fixed by the government-run Keltron was far above the actual costs needed for the project. He further claimed that the State Industries Department had been alerted to the cost anomalies by a company involved in the project, but had not taken any action.
Satheesan cited a financial proposal submitted by Trois Infotech, a Thiruvananthapuram-based company, to flag the alleged misappropriation of funds in the project. The company had submitted the proposal to complete the project at a cost of Rs 57 crore to SRIT, the Bengaluru-based company which won the bidding for the project. SRIT subcontracted the works to two other companies – Al Hind and Presadio – in alleged violation of the tender rules. SRIT reportedly wanted the two sub-contract firms to purchase the equipment from Trois only. However, Kozhikode-based Al-Hind found the amount to be exorbitant and reported it to the industries department, stating that there was no transparency in the way the rates were fixed.
‘The industries department secretary replied to Al-Hind that it had no direct involvement with the company and asked it to approach SRIT to settle the financial matters. The department was aware of the lack of transparency in the project but it did not take any action. I’m not saying the industries department or the minister (P Rajeeve) were involved in the corruption, but they could not do anything as their hands were tied,’ said Satheesan. He further alleged that Presadio, the company to which Al-Hind was directed to speak, was run by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s relative Prakash Babu.
Satheesan questioned the rationale behind issuing the tender for Rs 151 crore when a company involved in it had suggested it could be completed for less than Rs 50 crore. ‘The industries secretary, who sat on the letter given by AlHind, is entrusted to probe the allegations over the project,’ he added.
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