Days ahead of local body elections in Kerala, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday accused the Left Democratic Front (LDF) of corruption in the selection of a service provider for the installation and maintenance of bio-compost kitchen bins and tenders for civil works in the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) MLA and former mayor VK 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-controlled corporation had selected Omega Ecotech Products India Private Limited in 2016 as a service provider for the kitchen bins, despite the agency not being promoted by the Suchitwa mission. In 2019, the tender was awarded to the Palakkad-based IRTC with the condition that kitchen bin products would be procured from Omega Ecotech only. He claimed that the tender was awarded to the company despite the fact that another company offered lower prices for the kitchen bins.
He also claimed that estimates for road projects are being prepared to ensure “40% commission” to the CPI(M). Estimates are being prepared at a rate that is 40% higher than the project demands, with the rest of the amount ending up in the party 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 that showed details of the technical committee meeting that selected the company as the service provider. He said the BJP had earlier made similar allegations in the corporation. Later, the Vigilance department conducted an investigation. The Vigilance report denied all allegations of wrongdoing. Regarding the allegation of 40% commission for road works, he said the rates were fixed as per the Delhi Schedule of Rates (DSR) published by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) and the tender process was conducted transparently through an e-tendering website.
“All these allegations days before the elections show that the BJP is certain to lose the seats it currently holds in Thiruvananthapuram. BJP councilors have tried to suppress the corporation’s waste management at source, including the kitchen bin project, which has ensured that the city remains clean despite the closure of the Vilapilsala centralized sewage treatment plant,” we said against our reputation.
Published – 05 Dec 2025 21:51 IST
