Kerala Assembly complex renovation:Speaker junks allegations on huge expenses

The contract was given to the ULCCS as per a government order.The Society has finished the work at a lower cost than quoted, Sreeramakrishnan said.He also dismissed the allegation of Chennithala that Sabha TV, an initiative of the state Legislative Assembly, was incurring huge expenses and said almost all the staff there are on contract basis.

Kerala Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan on Thursday refuted allegations levelled against him by Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala on the ''huge expenses'' incurred over the State Assembly complex's renovation and said works were done at a lower cost. Chennithala had earlier in the day alleged thatnearly Rs 100 crore was spent for the various renovation works of the Assembly complex and construction works and other IT-related works were handed over tothe Uralungal labour contract co-operative society (ULCCS) without following due procedure.

''Since this government came to power and this Speaker took charge in 2016, nearly Rs 100 crore has been blown as part of various renovation and construction works in the state Assembly.The contract was given to ULCCS without following any due procedure,'' Chennithala said. The Speaker said the contracts were given to the ULCCS as it had a good track record in the construction field and in the IT sector.

He said the cost of renovation was not Rs 16 crore as alleged by the Opposition Leader, but was completed for Rs 9 crore. A state-of-the art hall was renovated for 'Loka Kerala Sabha' (refers to convention of Non-resident Keralites across the world being held by the state government) inside the Assembly complex.

As part of the paperless initiative, the MLAs have been given an interactive and advanced touchscreen at their seats to be used when the House in session, he said. ''The contract was given to the ULCCS as per a government order.The Society has finished the work at a lower cost than quoted,'' Sreeramakrishnan said.

He also dismissed the allegation of Chennithala that Sabha TV, an initiative of the state Legislative Assembly, was incurring huge expenses and said almost all the staff there are on contract basis. The Speaker again dismissed the allegations raised by state BJP chief K Surendran over his alleged links with the gold smuggling case accused.

Sreeramakrishnan reiterated that he hasn't met any of the accused in the gold smuggling case during his foreign trips. Surendran again alleged that the Speaker had links with the accused and the BJP had sought a probe against him.

The Speaker had on Wednesday said the media was unnecessarily raking up 'fake news'. The National Investigation Agency (NIA), EnforcementDirectorate and Customs are conducting separate probes into the racket that was busted with the seizure of gold.

The Customs has arrested around 15 people, including Swapna Suresh, Sarith PS and Sandeep Nair, over seizure of 30 kg gold from a diplomatic baggage of the UAE consulate in Thiruvananthapuram on July 5.PTI RRT BN WELCOME BN WELCOME.