Congress MLA Kuzhalnadan accuses Kerala CM of mining lease corruption, dilution of land reforms Act to benefit CMRL

Congress legislator Mathew Kuzhalnadan has sought to put LDF government in Kerala in the dock for big-ticket corruption by accusing Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of permitting a Kochi-based mining firm to quarry mineral-rich sand at “throwaway prices” from the expansive backwater channel leading to the spillway at Thottapally in Alappuzha district.

Congress legislator Mathew Kuzhalnadan on February 27 (Monday) sought to put the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala in the dock for big-ticket corruption by accusing Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of permitting a Kochi-based mining firm to quarry mineral-rich sand at “throwaway prices” from the expansive backwater channel leading to the spillway at Thottapally in Alappuzha district.

At a press conference here, Mr. Kuzhalnadan said Mr. Vijayan’s “largesse” to the Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) in 2020 cost the public exchequer ₹40,000 crore by a conservative estimate. “The money could have helped the government easily dodge the current financial crisis”, he said.

Flaunting what he claimed to be government records running into nearly 2,000 pages, Mr. Kuzhalnadan said the firm had approached Mr. Vijayan seeking a government permit to mine the mineral ilmenite.

The company claimed it had incurred huge losses because it had to import raw materials from Japan and Australia.

Mr. Kuzhalnadan said the Chief Minister invoked his powers under the State Disaster Management Act (SDMA) and directed the District Collector, Alappuzha, to grant the CMRL permission to remove the mineral-rich sand under the pretext of dredging and deepening the canal to mitigate seasonal flooding.

He alleged that the company quarried 53 lakh tonnes from the channel. CMRL’s profits increased multifold, touching a peak of ₹40,000 crore.

Mr. Kuzhalnadan said the State government kept the Indian Rare Earths, a public sector entity with a monopoly on mining atomic minerals, out of the deal.