Former Public Works Minister and Indian Union Muslim League legislator V.K. Ebrahim Kunju on Wednesday faced the prospect of being indicted for corruption in the shoddy construction of the now-defunct multi-crore flyover at Palarivattom in Kochi.
Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has given the go-ahead for the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to press criminal charges against Mr. Kunju in connection with the “sloppy” execution of the project. The flyover was decommissioned barely a year after its inauguration in 2016 and it had provoked a groundswell of public anger, prompting the Left Democratic Front government to order an anti-corruption inquiry.
The VACB probe is focussed on finding out if there was any wrongdoing on the part of Mr. Kunju in advancing a low-interest loan to the private firm contracted to build the overbridge. It is also attempting to ferret out whether Mr. Kunju had accorded illegal financial advantage to the company by fast-forwarding the payment of part bills, allegedly overlooking cautionary reports about the low-grade nature of construction. The agency has also sensed an anomaly in the government’s decision to sanction an advance payment of ₹9 crore to the private builder at an interest rate much less than that charged by nationalised banks.
The VACB is also scrutinising the role of officials attached to the Roads and Bridges Corporation, the State agency tasked to implement the project, and also other officials of Kitco, a State-run consultancy, in the corruption case.
It is also tracking the money trail in the case, including whether those under a cloud of suspicion had amassed wealth or properties beyond their known sources of income. The Enforcement Directorate has sought “third party” information about the case from the agency.
The VACB had concluded that big-ticket corruption and lack of oversight had resulted in the shoddy construction of the four-lane flyover, prompting the government to decommission it in the interest of public safety.
It has already arrested the then PWD Secretary T.O. Sooraj and three others, including the builder on corruption charges. Mr. Sooraj’s statements had brought the investigation to Mr. Kunju’s doorstep.
