Kannur Corporation denies graft charge, says STP yet to get clearance

Kannur Mayor Muslih Madathil on Friday (November 7) denied CPI(M) district secretary K.K. Ragesh’s corruption allegation linked to the proposed sewage treatment plant (STP) at Marakkarkandi, stating that the project has not moved beyond the technical committee approval stage.

Speaking at a press conference, the Mayor said Mr. Ragesh had accused the Corporation of a ₹100-crore scam in a project valued at ₹140 crore, even though the plan remains unimplemented. He said the rise in the tender amount from ₹40 crore to ₹140 crore cited by Mr. Ragesh as evidence of wrongdoing was the result of an official’s upload error that was corrected the next morning.

Mr. Madathil said the implementation process rests with officials and not elected representatives. He added that the project, earlier held by the Water Authority, was taken over by the Corporation due to delays in road restoration linked to drinking water works under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme.

The Council had cleared the plan for execution under the DBOT model, and an expression of interest was issued accordingly. The Corporation submitted the proposal for approval of the State-Level Technical Committee (SLTC) on 22 May 2025. The Mayor said the AMRUT managing director later advised that agreements could be signed only after the committee met, noting that the SLTC had not convened since May.

He said Koya and Company, which has implemented a similar model in Kozhikode Corporation, qualified in the technical evaluation, while LC Infra failed to address issues flagged by the committee despite being given time to revise its design. The Corporation had earlier issued a nationwide advertisement for the project, then estimated at ₹140 crore.

Countering Mr. Ragesh’s charge of corruption, the Mayor alleged the CPI(M) leader was illegally interfering in administrative matters and challenged him to disclose his assets. He accused Mr. Ragesh of misusing public interest funds for a school project in Munderi, adding that related figures would be released shortly.