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No formal agreement was signed, apart from a meeting held in the presence of the Chief Minister, before the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium was handed over for renovation to a private sponsor, Hibi Eden, MP, alleged here on Wednesday. Addressing a press conference alongside District Congress Committee president Muhammed Shiyas, Mr. Eden said that beyond the Sports Minister passing the responsibility to the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA), which in turn passed it to the Sports Kerala Foundation (SKF), and it to the sponsor, no clarity has emerged on the matter. He questioned how the proposed ₹70 crore would be spent on renovation. According to experts, renovation works would require an investment of only ₹25 crore. So, on what basis is the ₹70 crore estimate being fixed? He also pointed out that there was no mechanism in place to ensure quality checks on the materials being used. Mr. Eden further alleged that the Sports Minister had even misled the Chief Minister in supporting the project. In the absence of a formal agreement, Mr. Eden questioned whether GCDA would have any claim over the revenue generated from the match whenever it is held, and who would be held accountable for any construction defects. He clarified that the Congress was not opposing the renovation itself, but rather the procedural violations surrounding it. He urged the Sports Minister to provide a clear explanation. Mr. Shiyas alleged that the lodging of police complaints against Congress activists and media personnel on their visit to the stadium reeked of political vendetta by the CPI(M). He claimed there were questionable dealings behind the selection of a sponsor with no prior experience in similar projects and raised concerns about the credibility of SKF. Since the GCDA has clarified that no agreement existed with the sponsor, he questioned the grounds on which SKF handed over the stadium. Mr. Shiyas also noted that even the football association had been kept in the dark about the entire project.
