A three-member commission headed by former judge of the High Court C.N. Ramachandran Nair will inquire into the pact signed by the previous United Democratic Front government with Adani Vizhinjam Ports Ltd for the ₹7,525-crore Vizhinjam International Multipurpose Deepwater Seaport.
Former Union Secretary for Shipping K. Mohandas and P.J. Mathew, a former Indian Audit and Accounts Service Officer, are the other members of the judicial commission, appointed under the Commission of Inquiry Act.
Briefing mediapersons after the weekly Cabinet meeting here on Wednesday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the commission had been given six months’ time to submit the report and that the terms of reference of the inquiry would be finalised later.
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The inquiry had been ordered against the backdrop of the observations made by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on lapses on the part of the State government while signing the agreement with AVLP.
Mr. Vijayan said the Cabinet discussed the remarks in the CAG report on public sector undertakings for the year that ended March 2016 and considered all issues before taking the decision.
The CAG’s report had mentioned that the State’s interest was not protected in the pact and that by extending the contract period of the project by 40 years, the Adani Group would gain an extra income of ₹ 29,217 crore.
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Although the concession period for Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects is 30 years, the Chief Minister said the CAG had pointed out that the AVLP had been given 40 years. Even in the upcoming greenfield port at Colachel (Enayam) in adjoining Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, the concession period is 30 years, he said.
AVLP of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), the private multi-port operator, was selected through global bidding to build the superstructure and operate the seaport. The work for the dream project of the State is on and the Chief Minister is to kick off the berthing facilities at the project site in Vizhinjam on Thursday.
Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who took the lead in signing the agreement with the Adanis, had maintained that the 40-year period had been agreed to as per the model PPP agreement approved by the erstwhile Planning Commission. Besides, it had got the Centre’s clearance for viability funding.