Thiruvananthapuram: Contradicting Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s statement that the state government relies solely on the Public Relations Department (PRD) for its PR activities, recent revelations have brought to light the PRD’s engagement of private agencies for promotional work.

In response to a Right to Information (RTI) query, the PRD disclosed that it has spent Rs 14.10 lakh on two PR agencies during the tenure of the second Pinarayi government. The departments like Tourism, PRD and various institutions under the IT and Ports department have collectively spent Rs. 3.68 crore on PR activities. Of this, Rs.2.85 crore was paid to a single PR agency.

The PRD clarified that these agencies were engaged in campaigns promoting the government’s welfare activities. Instead of an open tendering process, the agencies were selected from the empanelled list.

The Kerala Fibre Optic Network (K-FON) has recently engaged a PR agency at an annual cost of Rs.18 lakh. Meanwhile, the reliance on private PR agencies has begun expanding beyond the revenue-generating institutions of the government. The Kerala State Women’s Development Commission is the latest to join this list.

PR expenses by departments (2024):
Tourism: Rs 1.65 crore
Start-Up Mission: Rs 1.15 crore
Thiruvananthapuram Technopark: Rs 26.68 lakh
Kozhikode Cyber Park: Rs 19.59 lakh
IT Mission: Rs 1.62 lakh
PRD: Rs 14.10 lakh
Vizhinjam Seaport Limited: Rs 25.78 lakh

It had earlier come to light that private PR agencies were often chosen from departmental panels. However, instead of creating independent lists, many departments reference existing panels. This practice has concentrated PR contracts in the hands of a few select agencies, effectively fostering a monopoly.