Serious irregularities in conduct of Global Ayyappa Sangamam, details of report out

PATHANAMTHITTA: The report of the special Commissioner has mentioned serious irregularities in the conduct of the Global Ayyappa Sangamam. The report says that the event was held in violation of a court order and that there was no financial transparency. This has been clarified in the report submitted by the special commissioner to the high court.

The bills lack accurate accounts. The construction of the pandal along with other work was given to the event management company without inviting a tender. The contract was given to the event company, a subsidiary of Uralungal, for a ten percent excess amount. The absence of GST bills in the figures will cause a huge loss to the devaswom board. There is no exact figure for the subcontracting. No subcontracts were presented for auditing. None of the bills are correct. The auditor has not been able to calculate the exact figure. Although the cultural programs for two lakhs were decided, eight lakhs were spent. The sponsorship income of two crores is unclear. The report also states that there is no account for the food distribution expenses of VIPs.

It is reported that the devaswom board has incurred a loss of Rs 3.40 crore by organizing the Ayyappa Sangamam. The high court had directed not to use the board’s or the government's money for the sangamam. Reports say that more than Rs 3 crore was spent from the devaswom board's surplus fund as the money that was expected to be raised through sponsorship was not received.