M Sivasankar, K-FON picture | Photo: Mathrubhumi, CMO Kerala
Kochi: As instructed by the central GST Intelligence, the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) handed over the details of the public sector internet service provider Kerala Fiber Optic Network (K-FON).
The action was taken on the basis of the information provided by Enforcement Directorate (ED) after interrogating M Sivasankar and Swapna Suresh, it is learnt. The documents from the state IT department also have been demanded.
It was found out that former IT secretary M Sivasankar was in charge of the Rs 1028 crore worth K-FON project which was initiated by the KSEB and the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited (KSITIL).
Though KSEB was a partner, IT department was managing the project. Even after the State Power Regulatory Commission asked twice not to proceed with the project, it was not dropped.
Sivasankar had been the chairman of KSEB since 2012 and was appointed as the IT secretary in 2016. K-FON was initiated after this. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) was selected as the project management unit without inviting tender.
KSITIL chaired by Sivasankar had suggested PwC. He was also the chairman of the 5-member high level committee for appointing staff to the project management unit.
It was PwC which appointed Swapna Suresh in Space Park for a huge salary. There was a move to place Swapna as the head of the K-FON project. Due to this, the ED grew suspicious about K-FON. As primary assumptions, there are irregularities in purchasing cable for K-FON.
The GST department suspect that cables were delivered violating the direction of the centre. The probe agency also raised suspicion about hasty implementation of the K-FON. The project is handled by IT wing of the KSEB and System Operation Circle in Kochi.
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