Thiruvananthapuram: There is allegation that the State Mining and Geology Department has concealed the file pertaining to black sand mining in Alappuzha. In response to inquiries raised through the RTI document, it was stated that the files provided to CMRL, a private company, could not be located. This attempt to cover up by the mining department occurs amidst ongoing investigations by national agencies into CMRL, which allegedly made monthly payments to the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter.
The Department of Mining and Geology is accused to have expertly concealed documents related to the contract awarded to the private company CMRL for black sand mining, a deal worth crores of rupees. In response to inquiries raised under the RTI by Thiruvananthapuram native and public activist KP Chitrabhanu, the department earlier claimed that the file was missing.
The RTI document sought information regarding the year and date of permission granted to CMRL for mining, the extent of land allocated for mining, whether the land is government-owned or private, specifics of the contract, the monetary transactions with CMRL, and records of completion of mining. However, none of these queries were answered. Due to the delayed response from the mining department, the complainant lodged an appeal.
Following this, a file was provided to the complainant, Chirabhanu, with a strange explanation that the file from 20 years ago had been retrieved with great difficulty. However, Chitrabhanu pointed out that despite the file being produced, it contained no information pertinent to his RTI inquiries.
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