Kerala govt orders probe into corruption allegations against Keltron in AI camera project

Thiruvananthapuram: Hours after opposition leader V D Satheesan wrote to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking clarity on the Keltron-AI-camera deal, the Kerala government on Wednesday ordered a comprehensive investigation into the deal by the principal secretary of the Industries Department. 

"The Industries principal secretary has been asked to go through all the documents related to the deal and submit a report," Minister for Industries P Rajeeve told reporters on Wednesday. 

The issue was first raised by former opposition leader and senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala. He alleged that the project witnessed an inexplicable cost escalation from the original Rs 75 crore to Rs 232 crore.

It was also alleged that Keltron had only spent Rs 5.5 crore for the project despite the government sanctioning nearly Rs 166 crore for the purpose. The former opposition leader wanted to know how the total project cost eventually ended up at Rs 232 crore.

Chennithala had also revealed what is now called a 'Russian Doll' contract deal. A Russian doll, also called a Matryoshka doll, is one in which are hidden innumerable dolls, one inside the other. The Keltron deal, too, looked similar. 

The original contract to install the AI-enabled cameras was given to Keltron but Keltron sub-contracted the work to a Bangalore-based IT company called SRIT India Pvt. Ltd. who, in turn, further sub-contracted the work to two Kerala-based companies: the Thiruvananthapuram-based Lyte Master Lighting India Pvt. Ltd and Kozhikode-based Presidio Technologies Pvt. Ltd. 

Chennithala had alleged that the original cost of Rs 75 crore, over a period of time, escalated to Rs 232 crore. It was also alleged that SRIT did not have adequate expertise in AI to implement the project, which was why it had subcontracted the work to other companies. 

The issue was then taken up by opposition leader V D Satheesan. "When I examined the documents I could access, I could understand that the cameras were purchased at rates higher than the market price and there was no transparency in the selection of companies for the contract. It has been learned that Keltron has been commissioned by the Department of Transport to implement the AI camera project. A service-level agreement is known to exist in this regard. But the agreement is not publicly available. It is understood that Keltron acted against the terms of the agreement," he said in his letter to the Chief Minister today.

He said the prices quoted by Keltron were also suspect. "While there are many AI cameras available in the market, including those from international companies, Keltron has been buying and assembling the camera materials at a high cost," he said.

Satheesan also questioned the maintenance cost charged by Keltron. "While the cameras available in the market come with free warranty and maintenance, Keltron has added a huge amount for this in the contract. This points to corruption,” he said in the letter.

It is also alleged that Keltron had pocketed commission from both the government and from the companies it had subcontracted the work. The basic charge was that SRIT, to which Keltron had subcontracted the work, was getting money for doing nothing. "Nokkukooli," both Chennithala and opposition leader V D Satheesan said. 

SRIT refuted the 'nokkukooli' allegation. Its managing director Madhu Nambiar said that the technical know-how for the project was brought in by SRIT and that Lyte Master and Presidio were brought in only as funding agencies. However, in a mockery of his statement, a cabinet note on the project states that both these companies were given purchase orders by SRIT for the most advanced AI equipment.

The Industries Minister, however, downplayed the charges. He even hinted that Chennithala's charges bordered on the foolish. "In 2013, when Oommen Chandy was Chief Minister, 100 cameras were purchased for Rs 40 crore. We know that the cost was not just for cameras and that it included the cost of related systems. But if Chennithala's logic is applied, one camera would have cost Rs 40 lakh. At least, this is less than the Rs 31 lakh the opposition claims is the cost of one AI-enabled camera," Rajeeve said, and added: "Moreover, the 2013 camera could only detect speed and nothing else."

Rajeeve further said such attacks would only weaken the company. Contrary to the claims of the opposition, the minister said all the documents related to the project - the prequalification terms, tender documents, government orders, guidelines issued by the Transport Department, and recommendations issued by the Technical Committee - can be found on Keltron's site.