Kochi: The state government’s decision to grant the Rs 355-crore second phase of the Kochi Cancer Research Centre project to INKEL Limited, a private limited company in which the state government has minority shareholding, has raised eyebrows of people’s representatives and experts. Ernakulam MLA Hibi Eden said that there are widespread doubts about the competency of INKEL in implementing the project. “It has to be entrusted with a competent agency,” he told DC.
Questioning the government’s logic in “identifying” INKEL as the special purpose vehicle to implement the project, Mr Eden said the government normally forms an SPV for implementing a project, as it did when it formed KMRL for Kochi Metro rail project. “The entry of an existing entity in this project is a mystery,” he said. CPM leaders including P. Rajeev should explain why they dropped their earlier demand to entrust the project with Central government-owned HSCC Ltd, he said, adding the Justice Krishna Iyer Movement also must make its stand clear.
P.T. Thomas, MLA, said the government decision entrusting the project with an agency which has no expertise in such projects is “questionable and mysterious”. All those who worked for the project, including the Justice Krishna Iyer Movement, must respond to the decision, he said. Patron of the Krishna Iyer Movement Prof. M.K. Sanu said that the had campaigned for HSCC Ltd taking up the detailed project report and the construction work. “I am not aware of the credentials of INKEL and can react only after studying all aspects,” he said. CPM district secretary P. Rajeev said he did not have the details of INKEL’s involvement in the project.
“INKEL is a firm in which state government has involvement. Since HSCC had prepared the DPR, what needs to be done is implementing it by entrusting with contractors. What is in focus is setting up a world-class institute in a time-bound manner,” Mr Rajeev added Former special officer (technical) of the project and eminent oncologist Dr V.P. Gangadharan said the government should immediately appoint a full-time director for the project who can be part of planning, which includes appointing the agency for construction. “The director should not come in the middle of the project,” he said.
It’s local company with expertise, justifies govt
Additional chief secretary (health) Secretary Rajeev Sadanandan has said the government decided to grant the second phase of Kochi Cancer Centre project to INKEL considering the agency’s expertise in executing projects. “Moreover the Kerala connection of the agency would help the government keep project-related activities within its control,” he said. On the decision not to hand over the project to public sector Hospital Services Consultancy Corporation (HSCC), the additional chief secretary said the agency had already done the detailed project report (DPR) for the cancer centre.
INKEL is not a private company and the state government has 32 per shareholding, he pointed out. According to him, the finance department had nominated INKEL Ltd from among a host of agencies including Kerala Medical Services Corporation (KMSCL) HLL Life Care, Kochi- based KITCO, BSNL and HPL. KMSCL executed the cathlab project and HLL had also done a couple of projects. The official said since many of the firms are headquartered outside the state, the government does not want to land in a situation where it is not in firm command of the project during the implementation phase. He said INKEL had successfully completed the Treasury Infrastructure Development Project (TIDP ) of the state government and had partnership in other fields as well. Sadanandan said some of the public sector agencies had implemented projects in a slipshod manner and they did not want to take chances.
