Kerala Students Union state vice-president P Muhammed Shammas raised the allegation at a press conference on Monday, identifying contractor K A Abdul Khader as the licence holder. He alleged that Carton India secured registration with Steel Industrials Kerala Limited (SILK), the government-accredited agency handling the projects, using Khader’s credentials.
Shammas further claimed that an agreement subsequently executed between Carton India and Khader was intended to conceal irregularities. The allegation has not been established by investigators, and the circumstances of the company’s eligibility and empanelment remain disputed. No finding has been announced establishing that the licence arrangement invalidated any contract.
Kannur District Panchayat president Binoy Kurian rejected suggestions that the local body had violated procurement procedures. Kurian, who served as vice-president under Divya, maintained that SILK independently selected the contractor after completing the required tender formalities.
The dispute concerns contracts for prefabricated modular toilets, including facilities designed for girls at schools across Kannur, and an animal birth control centre at Padiyoor panchayat near Iritty. The projects were implemented through SILK rather than awarded directly to the executing company by the district panchayat, Kurian said.
He explained that the panchayat invited bids from project management consultants during 2022-23 and selected SILK because it quoted the lowest percentage service charge. SILK then prepared estimates, invited bids from executing companies and selected Carton India, he maintained.
A tripartite agreement was subsequently signed by SILK, Carton India and the district panchayat. Kurian said the panchayat acted within that agreement and had made the relevant records available for inspection. He also disputed the continuing allegations despite the documents supplied to Shammas.
The allegations follow the Kerala government’s October 23 decision to authorise a Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau investigation concerning Divya, her husband V P Ajith and former district panchayat secretary Abdul Latheef. Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala granted sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act after Shammas renewed his complaint.
That authorisation permits examination of the disputed procurement decisions but does not itself establish wrongdoing. The investigators must assess the documentation, the selection process and allegations concerning the company’s purported connections with Divya and her family.
Shammas cited the Kerala State Audit Department’s audit observations for 2023-24, saying records did not adequately explain how Carton India was chosen for modular toilet works or contain the relevant tender documentation. Those observations have become central to questions about whether competition was properly advertised and recorded.
Kurian argued that audit objections were subsequently withdrawn after additional documents were furnished. Shammas, however, pointed to a January 2026 Vigilance assessment that identified insufficient evidence of publicity for the tender process. The competing accounts leave the status and adequacy of the procurement records contested. Whether all bidders had equal access to the tender remains a key question.
The previous Left Democratic Front government had declined permission for an inquiry into Divya’s role, stating that preliminary verification had found no evidence that she intervened to obtain contracts for Carton India. It acknowledged shortcomings in tender publicity but characterised them as procedural irregularities.
That administration also cited the company’s startup registrations and procurement exemptions available to eligible startups. The new United Democratic Front government reversed the earlier refusal, enabling investigators to examine allegations that had remained unresolved.
(The article ‘More graft charges during Divya presidency’ appeared first on Free Press Journal.)
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