The Hindu : Kerala News : VS seeks Central probe into Kovalam hotel deal

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 15, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

VS seeks Central probe into Kovalam hotel deal

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, SEPT. 14. The Leader of the Opposition, V. S. Achuthanandan, has asked the State Government to seek a comprehensive inquiry by a Central agency into the sale of the ITDC-owned Hotel Ashok and the Halcyon Castle, situated on 65 acres on the Kovalam beach, to the Emfar Group for Rs. 44 crores.

Addressing a news conference here today, Mr. Achuthanandan also sought a probe into the role played by officials in the transfer of ownership of the hotel and the castle without obtaining permission from the Cabinet and in violation of various laws. The Government, he said, was playing hide and seek on all issues connected with the sale of the hotel and demanded to know whether any member of the previous Government was privy to what he termed `plunder' of the State's wealth.

Graft involved

The Leader of the Opposition said the property was actually worth over Rs. 400 crores and alleged that the sale of the property to the Emfar Group was marked by corruption. The former Chief Minister, A.K. Antony, had claimed that his Government had not given the green signal for the sale of the property and had also appointed a high-level committee of officials to go into the entire deal with the promise that his Government would take a stand on the issue by September 15.

Mr. Achuthanandan, who was accompanied to the news conference by the CPI(M) district secretary, M. Vijayakumar, demanded to know how much land the Government had acquired from the Travancore royal family in 1965 for setting up the hotel, details of the survey records relating to the property and how much money the State had received from the Centre as its price.

Cabinet approval

He also sought to know whether the Cabinet had at any time decided to sell the Halcyon Castle to the private hotel group and pointed out that any deal that had taken place without the approval of the Cabinet was illegal. He asked the Government to clarify whether the Government had at any time told the Centre that it could not sell the castle and property measuring 4.21 hectares on which it is situated, which had been identified to be in `adverse possession' by the Neyyattinkara Tahsildar.

Mr. Achuthanandan said that besides seeking a Central probe into the hotel deal, the State Government should initiate urgent measures to retrieve the castle and the associated land and initiate action against officials responsible for the sale of the hotel at much below its actual value.

Report submitted

The six-member official committee, constituted to study the issue of the ownership of the Halcyon Palace at

Kovalam, submitted its report today.

This would come for consideration of the Cabinet tomorrow. The Chief Secretary, Babu Jacob, headed the Committee.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala