Kozhikode: BJP leader, K. Surendran, has thrown serious corruption allegations against the state government and also Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, in implementing the projects under the Central government’s AMRUT Scheme (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation).
Surendran was speaking at a protest march by BJP activists against the state government and Pinarayi Vijayan in Kozhikode.
The BJP leader said that there are parallels between the AMRUT Scheme corruption and the Solar scam that rocked the previous UDF rule. He said that the present scam involves consultants just like in the Solar case where many investors were duped into investing millions of rupees in non-existent Solar projects.
He also accused the Corporations of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kochi, Thrissur, Kozhikode, and Kannur for sabotaging the central government scheme for urban transformation.
Surendran warned the state government by saying that if the government refuses to investigate the matter, he would approach the Central government and request a thorough probe into the corruption.
The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs had allowed a sum of Rs. 2357 crore for implementing the scheme in Kerala. The State government has given sanctions to projects worth Rs. 1418 crore till date. However, only a fraction of construction works of the sanctioned projects are underway across the state.
The AMRUT Scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2015 with an aim to develop infrastructure that could ensure adequate robust sewage networks and water supply for urban transformation by implementing urban revival projects.