Kerala govt's Life Mission project under CBI scanner; FIR filed for alleged FCRA violation

The Kerala government which is already facing the heat for its handling of the gold smuggling case probe faced a further blow on Friday after the Central Bureau of Investigation registered a case of alleged Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act violation in the Life Mission project. It is the state government's comprehensive housing scheme for all the landless and homeless in the state. The agency has booked Santosh Eapan of Unitac Builders & Developers, which bagged the contract of the project and raided his office and residence in Kochi. 

Demanding a CBI probe, Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala recently alleged that gold smuggling scam accused Swapna Suresh admitted before an NIA court that she received Rs.1 crore as commission from the project. He also lambasted Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan for not making public the copy of the MoU between the state government and the UAE-based Red Crescent Authority. Red Crescent had agreed to provide Rs.20 crore fund towards the Life Mission project. According to Chennithala, the commission involved in the case amounts to approximately Rs.9 crore. 

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What is the Life Mission project?

The target of the mission is provide safe housin to nearly 4.30 lakh homeless people in Kerala within a span of 5 years. This entails modern housing complexes with provision of livelihoods and social services such as primary health care, geriatric support, skill development and financial inclusion. The Kerala government decided to give priority to the coastal population, plantation workers and those who stay in temporary shelters on government land. On Thursday, Vijayan inaugurated the construction work of 29 housing complexes.

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Kerala government orders Vigilance probe

Amid the opposition's demand for an investigation, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Kerala government on Tuesday initiated a preliminary probe into corruption allegations in the Life Mission project in Wadakkancherry, Thrissur. Reportedly, the investigation shall be conducted under the supervision of Vigilance Director Sudhesh Kumar. While Vijayan has assured that strict action would be taken if any lapses are found, Congress and BJP have dismissed this contention. As per Kerala BJP president K Surendran, the vigilance probe is an attempt to sabotage the Centre's probe and destroy the Life Mission documents. 

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(With inputs from agencies)

(Image credits: PTI)