Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan on Saturday accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of having orchestrated the mineral sand mining at Thottappally in Alappuzha to purportedly aid the interests of Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL).
The Muvattupuzha MLA, who described the fresh allegations against the Chief Minister as ‘Part 2’ of the controversy over the alleged illegal payments made by the firm to Mr. Vijayan’s daughter T. Veena, said the government ordered mining at Thottappally under the guise of preventing floods in the Kuttanad region. But the real motive was to extract ilmenite found in the mineral sand deposit in the region, he alleged.
Mr. Kuzhalnadan said the Chief Minister had recommended necessary follow-up action on a memorandum submitted by the company claiming that it had suffered losses to the tune of ₹60 crore following the import of ilmenite by the Centre. The firm had also urged the government to make arrangements to ensure supply of the mineral within the State itself.
The MLA claimed that the Chief Minister had convened a meeting in 2018 in his capacity as the Chairman of the State Disaster Management Authority after a situation emerged where it was impossible to give the official nod to operationalise the mining lease in the name of the firm. The District Collector of Alappuzha gave permission to remove sand from Thottappally in the name of preventing flood based on the decision taken at the meeting chaired by the Chief Minister, he said.
He alleged that the government decided to remove the sand at a meagre price of ₹464 per cubic metre on the grounds that the Department of Mining and Geology and the National Centre for Earth Science Studies did not respond to its request to fix the price after assessing the value of the mineral sand that contained regulated atomic minerals. It resulted in the sale of the mineral sand to CMRL at a throwaway price, he said.
Mr. Kuzhalnadan alleged that the quid pro quo resulted in a jump in the profits of the firm after 2018. It gained huge profits in the 2022-23 fiscal after the hurdles for mineral sand mining were removed, he alleged.
