Kochi: Left with no option after receiving a highly damaging report on the corruption and irregularities in the Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation (KSCDC), the state cabinet has decided to order a Vigilance inquiry into the charges. It also accepted in principle the recommendations of the expert committee which include sacking of managing director K.A. Ratheesh.
The government told the High Court, which is hearing a petition demanding a CBI inquiry into the charges of corruption, that it needed time to implement the recommendations of the committee headed by Mr P.H. Kurian, principal secretary, industries.
The committee had pointed out that the corporation followed no planned procurement of raw cashew nut and sale of products. The ad hoc purchase and sale had affected the finances of the organisation. It had also pointed out that there was no system of internal control, concurrent audit, cost estimation and accounting manual in the organisation.
Additional chief secretary Dr K. M. Abraham, who monitored the working of the expert committee, had submitted an affidavit in the High Court in March saying the management had sought to obstruct the functioning of the committee. He had also told the court that the cabinet had overruled his opinion not to pay for newspaper advertisements criticising the functioning of the committee and cleared the bill.
