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High Court notice to Devaswom Minister

Staff Reporter

Petition against entrusting preparation of Sabarimala master plan to Ecosmart

KOCHI: A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Tuesday issued notice to Minister for Tourism and Devaswom K.C. Venugopal, Devaswom Secretary, Travancore Devaswom Board, Ecosmart India Ltd. and other respondents on a writ petition against entrusting the preparation of the Sabarimala master plan to Ecosmart.

The Bench comprising Justice K. Bhaskaran and Justice M. Sasidharan Nambiar issued notice while admitting the petition filed by P. Venugopal of North Paravur and another devotee. According to the petitioner, as many as four master plans had already been prepared for Sabarimala development. They included the one prepared by A.V. Thamakarakshan, MLA, and NATPAC. The petitioner alleged that the Devaswom Minister had entrusted Ecosmart with preparation of the master plan without inviting tenders. Besides, a sum of Rs. 10 lakhs from the `Road Fund' had been released to the company without complying with the established rules. Of the Rs. 60 lakhs allotted by the Union Government for the project, Rs. 30 lakhs had been released to the company for the preparation of the master plan. The petitioners contended that the Minister had no right to interfere with the Travancore Devaswom Board.

Declaration sought

The petition sought a declaration that the Minister had no right to authorise the company to prepare the master plan and that the release of Rs. 30 lakhs to the company was unauthorised.

The petitioner contended that the company did not have the expertise to prepare a master plan for religious places. He alleged that the company planned to raise funds from the international market and pay back the money by collecting charges from pilgrims.

The Board had earlier in response to another petition submitted that the interview given by one of the officials of the company had raised doubts about the integrity of the company. The official had said that it had been decided to form a company and raise funds from the international market. So, the Board decided to suspend the service of the company for the second stage of the master plan. It had also complained that the contract had been given to the company without inviting tenders.

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