Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government has ordered a departmental inquiry into the alleged misappropriation of ₹11.91 crore received under the erstwhile Centre-sponsored Panchayat Yuva Krida Aur Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA) scheme.

Announcing the probe, Sports Minister O J Janish directed the Sports Secretary to conduct a detailed investigation and submit a report. The move comes in the wake of a Manorama report that a file seeking action in the case had remained pending with the Kerala Sports Council for the past eight months.
The minister also ordered a detailed examination of the role of M R Ranjith, former state coordinator of the PYKKA scheme and the current vice president of the Kerala Sports Council, in connection with the unaccounted funds.

The directive assumes significance amid reports that Ranjith was considering stepping down following reports over the alleged suppression of the file. However, the Sports Council Secretary has been instructed not to accept his resignation until the inquiry is completed.

Ranjith had been removed from the post of PYKKA coordinator in 2011 over irregularities in the implementation of the scheme. He, however, returned to the Kerala Sports Council in 2016 as a member of its governing body and currently serves as its vice president.

The financial irregularity came to light after the Kerala Sports Council, in response to a Right to Information (RTI) application, disclosed that ₹11.91 crore received under the PYKKA scheme could not be traced or accounted for.

According to the RTI reply, Kerala received ₹36.37 crore under the programme, of which ₹23.88 crore was spent through various local self-government institutions. The council also stated that ₹48.29 lakh was returned to the Centre after the scheme was discontinued in 2014, while ₹8.97 lakh remained in the scheme's bank account.

However, the figures leave ₹11.91 crore unaccounted for, with the Sports Council yet to trace how the amount was utilised.