The Central Travancore Janakeeya Vikasana Samiti chairman and former KPCC member, Thomas Mathew, has cautioned the Chief Minister Oommen Chandy against falling prey to the
machinations of the KGS Aranmula Airport company, lest he faces a similar fate as in the case of his alleged association with the controversial Team Solar company.
In an open letter to the Chief Minister, Mr. Mathew said the website of the KGS Group neither provided any details about its registration, its office address, its major projects so far, nor anything
about its balance sheets.
The society chairman said, in this context, the Chief Minister is bound to clarify the ground on which he was convinced of the credibility of the company, especially at a time when he has taken an adamant stand to implement the private airport project in Aranmula.
The KGS website says that the company would spend Rs. 2000 crore for developing the proposed airport project in Aranmula and of this, Rs. 700 crore will be the company’s share and the remaining Rs. 1300 crore
mobilised from outside as credit and shares. Ironically, the company’s contribution included the value of the land (excess land) which the Government had promised to allot to the company in Aranmula, he said.
Mr. Mathew alleged that KGS was yet to give Rs. 30 crore to Kalamannil Abraham — the balance amount for the land purchased from him for the proposed airport project in Aranmula and Mr. Abraham has moved the court against the company in this regard. Mr. Mathew further asked the Chief Minister, “What is the logic behind the Chief Minister’s assumption that a company that could not even pay Rs 30 crore on time for the land it had purchased would be able to execute a Rs 2000 crore project in Aranmula?”
The former KPCC member said it was sad that the Chief Minister had taken it a “matter of prestige in asserting with effrontery that the Aranmula airport project would be implemented at any cost”.
Mr. Mathew remarked in his letter it was high time the Chief Minister reviewed his decision on the Aranmula airport so as to avoid falling prey to a bigger scam than the solar panel scam.
Mr. Chandy should also try to understand the reality that a majority of the MLAs in the State Legislature too were against the airport project, the letter added.
The KGS website claims that the company with assets worth thousands of crores of Dollars has been investing in the fields of land development, engineering, airports, paper, healthcare, construction, and basic infrastructure development. It even claimed that the Reliance Group has 15 per cent stake in the KGS Group, he said.
