Key documents related to the Kerala government’s Unnathi initiative, aimed at empowering Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, have reportedly gone missing, leading to serious concerns about administrative lapses. Unnathi, under the Kerala Empowerment Society, is responsible for implementing various projects for marginalized communities, but the disappearance of critical files has hindered its operations.
According to a report submitted to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan by Additional Secretary Dr. A. Jayathilak IAS, significant lapses were allegedly identified during the tenure of N. Prasanth, former special secretary of the SC-ST department and former CEO of Unnathi. The report points out that Prasanth failed to transfer essential documents upon his replacement in March 2023 by K. Gopalakrishnan, director of the Scheduled Caste Development Department, despite an official order dated March 16, 2023, requiring him to do so.
Efforts to retrieve the missing documents included a letter sent to Prasanth, who returned only two envelopes with incomplete contents. Prasanth later cited the unavailability of Gopalakrishnan, who was on election duty, as a reason for the incomplete handover.
Missing Documents Include:
- Original Certificate of Registration for the Kerala Empowerment Society
- Financial documents: Bank and treasury account passbooks, checkbooks, and transaction details
- Contracts for website development and Chartered Accountant appointments
- MoUs with Kerala Startup Mission, TISS, IIM, Kerala Digital University, and other organizations
- Agreements for Unnathi Startup City and related collaborations
- Documents for Central funding in SC-ST programs
- Contracts for skill training initiatives aimed at supporting 200 entrepreneurs
These files reportedly include agreements with educational and IT institutions and plans for a startup city project at Ambedkar Bhavan, crucial for the growth and empowerment goals set by Unnathi. The Kerala government is expected to take further action following the report’s findings, as the issue has raised significant accountability concerns.
