KOZHIKODE: Pointing fingers at the previous LDF government for the plight of the Centre for Heritage Studies(CHS), Tripunithura, historian M G S Narayanan, who is also the director-general of the centre, has come out in the open against Shylendranath, registrar of the institution. Speaking at a press conference here on Monday, he said that the financial irregularities committed in the name of CHS by the registrar have already affected the functioning of the centre. “After the UDF government came to power in the state, I was asked to take charge of the CHS. But all is not well at the centre and now people have started to question my credibility,” he said. Lashing out at the registrar and the previous LDF government for putting the functioning of the centre in doldrums, MGS said that in the past 10 months alone, the registrar has spent around `1 crore illegally without the consent of the Governing Council. To cover up his actions, he has also tampered with the minutes. “The registrar, who was appointed by the previous LDF government, has not tried to do anything in connection with the heritage studies but used the centre for political and financial profits in the name of Muziris-Biennale projects. Even the excavation projects in and around the CHS have been transferred to Kerala Council for Historical Research, an institution run by the CPM,” he alleged. He also said that he has lodged a complaint with the Cultural Affairs Minister and that the government has promised to order an investigation against the registrar within two days. “Until the government launches an investigation and removes the registrar from the post, I will not go to the centre as its director-general,” MGS added. The historian also alleged that though `75 lakh was spent on the Training Centre for Heritage Ship Technology at Beypore which is under the CHS, nothing concrete has taken place at the centre so far.“We have brought the irregularities in the construction of the vessel, including matters related to safety precautions, competency in terms of technology and the future of the course on ship technology conducted without qualified instructors to the notice of the governing body of the CHS. The government viewed the matter seriously and suggested an inquiry into all aspects of the project. What we have decided on our part is to transfer the partially constructed vessel at the centre to the Tourism Department, if they are willing,” he added.
Comments
0 comment