Vizhinjam Commission: New position seen as possible cause of hurry

Thiruvananthapuram: Complaints have surfaced that the hurry of the Vizhinjam Judicial Commission to prepare and submit the Commission's report is motivated by the prospect of a new position for the Commissioner.

The Commission is apparently preparing to submit the report without even a readiness to hear arguments in accordance with the revised terms of reference (TOR). Although the term of Justice CN Ramachandran Nair Commission, appointed on 18 July 2017, was extended for another six months, the Commission has by now declared that it will not hear any more pleas. It has decided that if further points are to be brought to its attention, that should be done in writing by 14 August.

There are indications that there is an consensus to make Justice CN Ramachandran Nair the head of the to-be-formed Police-Prison Reforms Commission. The complaint raised by environmental activists is that the Vizhinjam Commission is making an expeditious effort to submit its report before that new Commission is formed.

The irregularities in the agreement for the Vizhinjam international port signed with Adani by the previous UDF government and the loss suffered by the state were the findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) that led to the formation of the Commission.

The original TOR given to the Commission mainly contained pinning responsibility for the two matters. But, the later amendment made to the TOR was such as to make the C&AG report ineffectual. This objection was raised before the Commission by Joseph Vijayan and Joseph C. Mathew.

But the Commission rejected their plea that they should be given an opportunity to submit their arguments in line with the new TOR, and asked them to submit their arguments in writing. It is amidst such developments that a complaint is arising about the judge preparing to assume the new responsibility.