THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Khadi Board secretary KM Ratheesh has himself issued an order increasing his salary. The salary has been increased from Rs 70,000 to Rs 170,000. Ratheesh issued the order without the permission of the Finance Department.

Ratheesh had earlier written a letter that though the former secretary of the Khadi Board received a salary of Rs 80,000, he wants Rs 175,000 as salary. The Industry Minister, who is also the chairman of the Khadi Board, approved the file and submitted it to the Finance Department. The Finance Department also approved it. However, the Industries Secretary had said that the salary of the former secretaries could not be doubled as the salary was Rs 80,000.

Ratheesh was appointed Khadi Board Secretary by the government in February 2020, concealing the fact that he was facing a CBI probe into a corruption case. The government at the time said it did not know the CBI case against Ratheesh.

The CBI has registered a case against KA Ratheesh, former MD of the Cashew Development Corporation, for irregularities in the importation of groundnuts. Ratheesh was subsequently removed from the corporation.