THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government has submitted a letter to Pricewater Coopers (PwC) demanding a refund of the salary paid to Swapna Suresh while she was a junior consultant at Space Park. According to a letter sent by KSITIIL (Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited) officials, Swapna was selected for the post by PwC.

The move comes in the wake of the revelation that Sivashankar, the former principal secretary to the chief minister, appointed Swapna to the Space Park with full knowledge of her educational qualifications and that she had not applied for it or participated in an interview.

Swapna was allotted a salary of Rs 19,06,730 in Space Park. The Financial Inspection Division had reported that KSITIL MD should take immediate action to recover Rs 16,15,873 from the PwC, which is the amount exempted from GST.

It was also recommended if the amount couldn't be levied from PwC, it should be charged from Sivashankar, then IT secretary and chairman of KSITIL, then MD Jayashankar Prasad, and special officer Santhosh Kurup.

The Financial Inquiry Division found that Swapna Suresh, who was not qualified, was appointed as the Junior Consultant due to deliberate actions on their part. The committee, chaired by the chief secretary, had also recommended that the salaries be recovered from the officers. The government has decided not to pay the Rs 1 crore due to PwC, which is the consultancy fee, without repaying the amount.