Transport Minister Thomas Chandy gets clean chit in preliminary inquiry

Alappuzha: Transport Minister Thomas Chandy has not committed any irregularities in levelling the river near Marthandam kayal for constructing his Lake Palace resort, as per the preliminary inquiry conducted by the revenue department. District collector Veena N. Madhavan has submitted the inquiry report to Revenue Minister E. Chandrasekharan. The report prepared by the tahsildar found no encroachment in the river and the area has been registered as ‘land’ in the land register.

However, a detailed investigation was underway, the collector said. Meanwhile, the Alappuzha municipality began an investigation on Wednesday to trace out the illegal constructions of Mr Chandy in Kuttanad. A team led by municipal engineer Ben Talion conducted a search at the Lake Palace resort. With the revenue minister ordering an inquiry, the files relating to the construction of the resort had gone missing from the municipal office, it is alleged.