Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the Assembly on Wednesday that the CAG findings on the terms and conditions of Vizhinjam international container terminal, particularly favourable to Adani Ports, are “a very serious issue.” “All I can say is that the case has to be examined as a special case,” he said during question hour.
After examining it in detail, further steps will be taken, he said. This is a shift from the government’s earlier stand that it would go ahead with the Vizhinjam project at any cost. Mr Vijayan’s statement came at a time when Adani was scheduled to meet him on June 1.
The CAG report on Tuesday had mentioned that the agreement signed between the previous UDF government and Adani group for the '7, 525-crore project is against the interests of the state.
The report came a day after CPM veteran V.S. Achuthanandan wanted the government to bring a white paper on the Vizhinjam agreement alleging corruption in the deal signed between the UDF government and Adani group, which was the lone bidder in 2015.
The CAG pointed out in the report that the decision to extend the contract period of the project from 30 to 40 years resulted in an extra income to the tune of Rs 29,217 crore to the Adani group.
