Kerala orders probe into tsunami fund utilisation

Thiruvananthapuram, July 12 (UNI) The Kerala Cabinet today appointed former Chief Secretary M Vijayanunni to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the alleged misappropriation of funds meant for the rehabilitation of tsunami victims.

Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan told newspersons that Dr Vijayannunni would be asked to submit his report within three months.

The probe was ordered after the government received several complaints regarding the misutilisation of crores of rupees meant for the rehabilitation work, he added.

More than 165 people were killed in the tsunami waves that battered the coastal villages on December 26, 2004, destroying about 6,000 houses.

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