Special Vigilance Court demands clarity on CMRL's government benefits

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The Special Vigilance Court has directed petitioner Mathew Kuzhalnadan, MLA, to clarify the benefits received by CMRL from the government. The petitioner must elucidate the anticipated revenue for Chief Minister's daughter Veena and Exalogic Company from the mining activities on land owned by Sasidharan Karta. Additionally, the court has instructed the public sector organization KMMRL to clarify its association with CMRL. Presiding over the case is Special Vigilance Court Judge M.V. Raja.

The petitioner is also required to address whether Lignite was procured by CMRL from MMRL and IRE at a price lower than the market rate. Acknowledging Mathew Kuzhalnadan's plea for additional time to gather and present pertinent documents, the court has rescheduled the hearing for the 25th of this month.

Allegations from the petitioner suggest that CMRL has garnered significant profits by engaging KMMRL in black sand mining, a task typically reserved for government or government-owned entities as per central government regulations. The petitioner contends that the Chief Minister facilitated this arrangement, receiving monthly payments from Veena and Exalogic company for services not rendered. Furthermore, the petitioner has informed the court that large-scale black sand mining continues under the guise of mitigating the 2018 man-made floods in Kuttanad.