The board secretary has issued an order to buy two Innova Crystas at a cost of Rs 41.59 lakh.
After a failed attempt to buy a new car for the use of a Travancore Devaswom Board member, the board has decided to buy two cars this time in the guise of office use. The board secretary has issued an order to buy two Innova Crystas at a cost of Rs 41.59 lakh.
Earlier, the board had decided to buy a new car for a CPM member of the board at a cost of Rs 21 lakh to replace a vehicle that was just one-and-a-half years old. When it triggered a controversy, the decision was scrapped.
The board had then issued a press release stating that the car was for the use of the ombudsman of Travancore-Kochi devaswom boards and the devaswom vigilance SP.
However, this time, the board’s order says that the Innova Crystas would be bought for department use. According to the company invoice, the cars cost Rs 41.59 lakh. The chief engineer has been given the task of getting the permission from the high court and the devaswom commissioner has been asked to release the amount from surplus funds.
But, devaswom staff allege that the cars that are being bought in the guise of office use will be given to chosen people.
On October 9 last year, the title of the letter sent to the chief engineer by the Travancore Devaswom Board secretary itself read: 'For buying new Innova car for board member K Raghavan's use'.
The order then said that based on the recommendation of the chief engineer, the board has okayed the decision to buy the car and the payment of Rs 19,91,821 to the dealer was approved. The car was a seven-seater in super white colour. But since the move gave rise to a hue and cry, it was scrapped. This time, the board has changed the title of the letter so that it could pass muster.
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