The state is in the midst of yet another political controversy after Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) Chairman and Managing Director (CMD), B Ashok, on February 14, put up a scathing Facebook post criticising the Left unions for misuse of power. On the same day, CPI(M) affiliated unions began an indefinite strike in front of the Vydyuthi Bhavan, the KSEB headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, against the CMD.
Amongst several allegations raised by the CMD in the post, his statement that “KSEB owned land was handed over to various co-operative societies in the name of tourism development without getting the full board's or government's approval,” has created a huge political row.
Soon, the Congress produced documents to show that 21 acres of land under the Kerala Hydel Tourism Centre (this centre comes under KSEB) was leased out in 2019 to Rajakkad Service Cooperative Bank run by the CPI(M). The bank was then headed by former Power Minster MM Mani’s son-in-law B Kunjumon, who continues to head it. This land was allegedly handed over without the revenue department’s approval.
“KSEB has no power to hand over such lands to a third party without the department's approval. But the hydel tourism wing in Ponmudi has done so,” said a top revenue official, according to TOI.
Former minister refutes allegations
In retaliation to this, MM Mani said that under his four-and-a-half-year tenure, the electricity board had functioned at its best and that it was the golden age of KSEB, and the production had increased. He also said that there was no truth in the allegation that the KSEB land in Idukki was leased out to a society headed by his son-in-law.
A Times of India report quoted him saying, “All lease deeds and other agreements were executed through the proper channel. I am fully responsible for whatever happened in KSEB during my stint as minister, even though a minister is not supposed to know about every action of the board.”
Mani has also openly doubted that his successor Krishnankutty instigated this controversy. Krishnankutty is the representative of Janata Dal (Secular) in the CPI(M) led Left Democratic Front government.
Documents with TNM, however, show that the decision to lease land to Rajakkad Service Cooperative Bank was made when MM Mani’s son-in-law was the bank’s President.
Other allegations
The CMD in his Facebook post also questioned if the board’s core business was to appoint 90 officers at a whopping recurring cost of Rs 12 crore, without informing the full board or the CMD. He also alleged that 6,000 of the total 33,000 KSEB employees have not secured the approval of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission; and KSEB has taken on a liability of Rs 1,200 crore as pay revision expenses in February 2021. This is in complete violation of the condition that such pay reforms should have prior government approval, he further said.
Further, he has alleged that an assistant executive engineer, who was not entitled to use an official car had logged over 1,000 km for his personal use; and that a junior chief executive engineer had given hundreds of acres of KSEB land for commercial lease without securing the approval of the KSEB full board or the government.
The Congress-led Opposition was quick to come out with the demand for a probe. Opposition Leader VD Satheesan demanded a detailed probe into the issue.
How did this start?
KSEB Chairman Ashok had decided to deploy the State Industrial Security Force (SISF) at Vydyuthi Bhavan and other installations, which he claimed was out of safety concerns. This was informed to the trade unions and officers' unions on February 5, through a video conference. However, according to reports, a section of the KSEB employees' unions objected to the management's decision of handing over the security of the KSEB headquarter building at Pattom to SISF. According to the protestors, while deploying SISF in critical installations such as dams and power stations is understandable, placing an office building such as the Vydyuthi Bhavan under SISF cover will only cause hardships to the public visiting it and also incur unnecessary financial liability for the KSEB.
Meanwhile, MG Suresh Kumar, the president of CPI(M)-affiliated KSEB Officers' Association, a union at the forefront of the agitation, put up a Facebook post criticising the board’s decision of deploying SISF in a public place, where people visit frequently. He had stated that instead of wasting resources such as the SISF, the board should concentrate on developing ‘the core strengths of the public utility’.
In response to this post, KSEB CMD Ashok put up another post stating that it was a measure taken concerning safety.
“In January 2021, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in writing recommended the deployment of SISF in place of the District Armed Forces. The deployment of SISF is not the only recommendation, and there are a handful of suggestions for improving screening, such as placing metal detectors and X-ray scanners. Realising that SISF security is mandatory for state policy and PSUs with a turnover of over Rs 300 crore, the Company Board has decided to gradually deploy SISF in place of the existing District Police,” he said in the post.
Further, he said that leaking information from the office was easy to do given that “almost all computers have data ports” and there is “an extensive collection of complete structures and civil-electrical drawings” in the investigation wing of the office. Ashok went on to hint that without any surveillance mechanisms in place, such critical information was being leaked by engineers. “A contractor had once told me the details of a tender shared with him by the concerned engineer even before the KSEB floated the tender. I have proof of this," Ashok said in the post.
He alleged that the Left unions pushed through decisions that would heap financial burden on the public utility, and added that there were instances when union leaders had threatened officials to sign on files after inserting clauses that were against rules and procedures.
‘Need a detailed probe’
Opposition leader VD Satheesan and Congress state president K Sudhakaran on Wednesday, February 16, demanded a comprehensive probe into the alleged corruption. “Under the guise of hydroelectric tourism, several acres of land was handed over to tourism societies in Idukki during the tenure of previous electricity minister MM Mani,” Satheesan told reporters at Cantonment House. “Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan should air his views in the wake of the corruption allegations raised by Ashok on Facebook,” he said.
“With the CMD himself coming out in the open about maladministration and financial irregularities in KSEB, the government should order a serious probe. KSEB’s land worth crores of rupees was given for cheap rates and by flouting tender norms to cooperative societies controlled by CPM,” he alleged. Satheesan also said that K Krishnankutty has not refuted the CMD’s allegations.
State BJP president K Surendran on Thursday, February 17, likened CM Pinarayi Vijayan to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Mani to RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal) leader Lalu Prasad Yadav. "Pinarayi is silent and so was Singh when massive corruption took place under him during the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) regime. Mani is like Lalu, who has become a permanent figure in the jail on account of the fodder scam corruption cases," said Surendran.
After this, Ashok said that he had not made any allegations against the former government or the former minister. “Unnecessary controversies should not be created. MM Mani is a leader whom I respect a lot. What I said was about the rules that need to be followed while leasing lands and I am convinced of what I have said,” he said and added that his criticism was of the incidents of illegal leasing.