Kochi Smart City: CM rejects charges

The Kerala Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, on Wednesday rejected as "baseless", the Opposition Leader V S Achuthanandan's charge that a consultancy firm had been given Rs 2 crore (Rs 20 million) for preparing the agreement between the state government and the IT project's sponsor, Dubai Internet City.

"Not a single paise had been given for consultancy service. Though the consultancy firm was involved in the initial stage, the final round of negotiations with the DIC was conducted by a team led by the state chief secretary. The consultant had been told that their services were not required," Chandy said in Thiruvananthapuram.

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Chandy said the government was prepared to show all the files pertaining to the Smart City project on demand from the opposition leader.

Achuthanandan had recently alleged that the consultancy firm had been given Rs 2 crore for preparing the terms of the agreement with DIC.