Days ahead of the local body elections in Kerala, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday accused the Left Democratic Front (LDF) of indulging in corruption in the selection of the service provider for installation and maintenance of biocompost kitchen bins and in the tendering of civil works in the Thiruvananthapuram city Corporation.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] MLA and former Mayor V.K. Prasanth accused the BJP of spreading baseless allegations ahead of the elections and said that he as well as Mayor Arya Rajendran would take legal action against the BJP leadership.
Mr. Chandrasekhar alleged that the LDF-ruled Corporation had in 2016 chosen Omega Ecotech Products India Private Limited as the service provider for kitchen bins, despite the agency not being empanelled by the Suchitwa Mission. In 2019, a tender was awarded to Palakkad-based IRTC, with the condition that the kitchen bin products are bought from Omega Ecotech only. The tender was awarded to the company despite another company quoting lower rates for kitchen bins, he alleged.
He also alleged that the estimates for the road projects are being prepared in such a way as to secure “40% commission” to the CPI(M). Estimates are prepared at a rate which is 40% more than that required for the project with the rest of the amount ending up in the party’s coffers, he said at a press conference.
Mr. Prasanth, who held a press conference later in the day along with CPI(M) district secretary V. Joy, MLA, produced documents which showed details of a technical committee meeting which chose the company as the service provider. He said that the BJP had earlier raised similar allegations in the Corporation. Later, the Vigilance department had conducted an inquiry. The Vigilance report had rejected all the allegations of wrongdoing. Regarding the allegations of 40% commission for roadwork, he said the rates were fixed as per the Delhi Schedule of Rates (DSR) published by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) and the tendering was done transparently through the e-tendering website.
“All these allegations a few days ahead of the elections show that the BJP is sure of losing the seats which it is currently holding in Thiruvananthapuram. The BJP’s councillors had attempted to scuttle the Corporation’s waste treatment at source measures, including the kitchen bin project, which has ensured that the city remains clean despite the closure of the centralised treatment plant at Vilappilsala. We will move legally against this attempt to tarnish our reputation,” he said.
Published – December 05, 2025 09:51 pm IST
