The Kerala government formally launched the Kerala Fibre Optical Network (KFON) on 5 June 2023, one of its major projects envisioned under Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s first term.
Kerala, the first state to recognise the right to the internet as a basic right, aspires to bridge the digital gap with KFON by providing high-speed broadband internet access to all residences and government buildings.
But if one looks deeply through the smoke and mirrors, one could easily notice puzzles that do not fit properly.
The communist regime under Pinarayi Vijayan is deeply embroiled in corruption scandals and the latest K-FON announcement has raised eyebrows of the public again.
Considering these allegations let us look at corruption allegations behind the K-FON project and understand why it might be another stain for the corrupt communist government of Kerala.
K-FON Scam
The BJP had accused the LDF administration of large-scale corruption and nepotism in the Kerala fibre optic network (KFON) project, one of the LDF government’s flagship projects aimed at offering quality internet services at an affordable rate to the state’s public and government institutions. According to BJP spokesman Sandeep Vachaspathi, the CPM and Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society were making money off chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s pet project. “The government has awarded a contract to a private company controlled by Uralungal society to lay optical fibre cable for KFON.” The contract is for ₹48,000 per kilometre, although cable installation costs just ₹8,000 to ₹10,000 per km. This financial syphoning is taking place with CPM’s knowledge and assistance. The agency that obtained the contract subleased the job to another business, which was against the rules,” he stated. According to Vachaspathi, the chief minister should conduct a thorough investigation into the claim. The BJP spokesperson said that multiple procedural irregularities occurred during the development of the KFON project after the government nominated a Tamil Nadu-cadre IAS officer who worked for Kamal Haasan’s political party as the head of KSITIL.
It is not only the BJP that has raised doubts. Opposition leader VD Satheeshan has also made some significant claims that call for accountability. Even before the controversy over the installation of artificial intelligence (AI) traffic cameras had subsided, Opposition Leader V. D. Satheeshan accused the State government of serious corruption in carrying out the KFON (Kerala Fibre Optic Network) project, which was announced with the promise of providing free internet to 20 lakh families. Mr. Satheeshan told the reporters in Kasaragod that ₹520 crores, more than the estimate was added to the bidding money and sanctioned to a consortium that included Bharat Electronics Limited and SRIT firm, which is also involved in the installation of AI cameras. According to the Congress lawmaker, ₹1028.8 crore have been sanctioned for the KFON project’s implementation. The consortium, on the other hand, was given a 9-year contract that included two years of building work and seven years of operation and maintenance. Even before the controversy over the installation of artificial intelligence (AI) traffic cameras had subsided, Opposition Leader V. D. Satheeshan accused the State government of serious corruption in carrying out the KFON (Kerala Fibre Optic Network) project, which was announced with the promise of providing free internet to 20 lakh families. Mr. Satheeshan told the reporters in Kasaragod that ₹520 crores more than the estimate was added to the bidding money and sanctioned to a consortium that included Bharat Electronics Limited and SRIT firm, which is also involved in the installation of AI cameras.
According to the Congress lawmaker, ₹1028.8 crore have been sanctioned for the KFON project’s implementation. The consortium, on the other hand, was given a 9-year contract that included two years of building work and seven years of operation and maintenance. This deal is worth ₹1531 crore. This includes ₹1.168 billion for construction and ₹363 billion for operation and maintenance. That equates to a tender for more than ₹500 crores, he claims. According to the Congress lawmaker, the KFON project, which was established in 2017, claimed that within 18 months, 20 lakh homes will get free internet access, and 30,000 government offices would have access to an internet network. Even though 90 percent of the work has been completed, only approximately 16000 offices have been connected, according to authorities. Recognising that providing free internet access to the population would be impossible, the government first said that only 14,000 individuals would have free internet access. The assembly constituency link was similarly restricted to 100 underprivileged persons in one assembly constituency. Mr. Satheesan stated that BEL is exclusively responsible for the operation and maintenance of 30,000 government institutions’ optical network terminals. However, in order to monetize the KFON scheme and serve additional clients, they need the services of a managed service provider. Surprisingly, SRIT also received this tender. He stated that, like the AI camera tender, the SRIT secured this contract by creating a cartel, with three businesses participating. Surprisingly, all three companies are Managed Service Providers (MSP) for RailTel’s subsidiary Railwayware. According to the Congress leader, SRIT will receive a 10% revenue share of the firm under the MSP deal. If more enterprises are bought outside of the scheme’s target area, they will get an extra incentive of up to 2%. In summary, SRIT is carrying the whole budget of the project, for which the government has allocated ₹1500 crore. SRIT has joined the KFON project as a commercial partner with no cash input. He wondered how this was possible.
He said that a similar fraud to the AI camera scam had occurred in KFON. In addition, the subcontract was awarded in KFON in contravention of the norms. M. Sivasankar, former principal secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, sent the letter, requesting an increase in the projected sum. He stated that further details about the KFON fraud would be disclosed in the following days. He also stated that the Industries Department’s inquiry into the AI camera scandal is irrelevant. The industries minister was supporting the strategy when he questioned how the probe would go. Even the Chief Minister is keeping quiet. Everything is corruption for the good of their people, according to the opposition leader.
From Life Mission To K-FON- The Many Scams Of Pinarayi Government
The Life Mission to K-FON scandal demonstrates the presence of a crooked network of bureaucratic cronies circling the Chief Minister.
There is an urgent need to analyse and study these corruptions in Kerala in order to understand how the communists are enriching themselves with public funds. LIFE Mission was a government programme that provided free shelter to the homeless and flood victims in Kerala in 2018.
Through the LIFE Mission plan, the project sought to build dwellings for 140 people in Thrissur’s Wadakkanchery area, spending ₹14.50 crore of the ₹20 crores provided by the Red Crescent via the UAE consulate.
The deal also stated that the leftover funds would be utilised to build a hospital. The Red Crescent is described as a non-profit institution that supports humanitarian operations, although its history is murky. The building contract was awarded to UNITAC Builders. As reported by UNITAC managing director Santhosh Eapen, each of the accused was given a ₹4.48 crore bribe for the project.
The government afterward authorised an investigation into the matter. Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair are the other defendants in the case. Swapna Suresh and Sarith PS, the accused in the case, made claims against Sivasankar claiming he played a role in this. When the ED started investigating the gold smuggling case, irregularities in the plan were discovered.
In October 2020, the ED allegedly seized ₹2 crores in cash and 2 kgs of gold from Swapna Suresh’s bank vault. Swapna Suresh, the main accused in the gold smuggling case, informed the ED that the money originated from commissions Sivasankar received from an agreement with The Red Crescent, an international humanitarian organisation, to provide houses for 2018 flood victims in Wadakkanchery, Thrissur district. In connection with the matter, the investigating agency had already detained M. Sivasankar, the former Principal Secretary to the Kerala Chief Minister. Mr. Sivasankar is presently incarcerated.
Sivasankar reportedly instructed Swapna to store the money in her locker. According to the investigating agency, the accused syphoned off a large sum as commission from money granted by an international entity for the housing project. The agency said that the money discovered in Swapna Suresh’s bank locker, another accused in the preceding money-laundering investigation, was part of the commission the accused had earned. Meanwhile, leaked conversations between the aforementioned secretaries and Swapna Suresh had embarrassed not just the CM or the governing party, but also the people of Kerala.
According to the conversations, M Sivasankar, the then-principal secretary to the chief minister, informed Swapna, who was ready to retire from her employment at the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram, that she would be guaranteed a job at the NORKA or the Department of Non-Resident Keralites Affairs. The chats also mention that Pinarayi’s additional private secretary CM Raveendran informed Sivasankar that Swapna met the CM. Apart from these the AI Camera scam which unravelled right before the current allegations also points the fingers toward the CM.
How the corruption drama unfolding in Kerala links to each other remains a mystery, but upon closer inspection, we may uncover a common thread that binds them all. The unifying thread that binds them is the Chief Minister and his secretaries, but the key question is the degree of the CM’s responsibility. Even though the mystery remains, as the head of a democratic state, he should explain his participation in all of these claims.
(Anand Krishna is a lawyer from Kerala and a columnist)
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