Vigilance probe into KIIFB land acquisition in Kannur a sub-standard political drama: Pinarayi Vijayan

Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday (October 31) described the United Democratic Front (UDF) government’s decision to conduct a Vigilance probe into the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB)-financed land acquisition in Kannur district as a “sub-standard political drama.”

“The land acquisition in Kannur was merely a natural progression of a process that was started two decades ago and continued through the previous UDF government’s term. Portraying it as something recent is pure deception, “Mr. Vijayan said in a statement.

The government is spreading propaganda with regard to the proposal to acquire land in Kannur and Palakkad for the allied development of the Kannur International Airport and the Kochi-Bengaluru industrial corridor. Hindering the emergence of industries in Kannur and Palakkad would destroy employment opportunities and economic progress, he said.

Mr. Vijayan’s reaction came a day after the V.D. Satheesan-led government issued formal orders for a Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) investigation into the procedural lapses alleged in the decision to acquire 4,896 acres in Kannur district at a cost of ₹12,240 crore through KIIFB, a decision taken during LDF rule in the State.

“It is strange that the government has ordered the investigation with pre-conceived notions without the support of a department-level investigation or any report. The government move is misusing the VACB in accordance with a politically-motivated script,” Mr. Vijayan said.

The KIIFB land acquisition in Kannur has been in the news ever since an expert committee led by former bureaucrat Sudha Pillai, which scrutinised KIIFB operations, questioned the rationale of the huge concentration of outlay for land acquisition in that district.