Kannur (Kerala), Nov 17 (IANS) Chief Minister Oommen Chandy Saturday pointed out that the media is playing spoilsport by coming out with baseless reports on the proposed Kochi Metro project.
"There is no controversy at all in the Kochi Metro project. The issues are being unnecessarily created by the media," Chandy told reporters here.
"This project has been on the cards when we were ruling the state in 2005 and since then E. Sreedharan has been associated with the project," said Chandy.
"There is going to be a final discussion on this in Delhi Nov 27. We have come this far because of the involvement of leaders like A.K. Antony, Vayalar Ravi and K.V. Thomas," added Chandy.
Controversy erupted after a senior bureaucrat's letter to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) surfaced in the media last week, in which he questioned the role of former DMRC chief E. Sreedharan in the proposed Rs.5,180 crore Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL).
The letter from Tom Jose, who was managing director of KMRL till August, got tongues wagging that the Oommen Chandy government was trying to oust both DMRC and Sreedharan from the project so as to bring other companies from whom a handsome commission could be pocketed.
Leading from the front with this allegation was Leader of Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan, who went public by saying that if DMRC handles this project, then the people in power in the state would not get a single rupee as commission.
The metro rail project is expected to finish in three years and will run 25 km from Alwaye to Petta.