Chennai: DMK has approached Madras high court seeking direction to the Directorate Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to register case against Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami in connection with corruption charges leveled against him for amassing wealth disproportionate to the known sources of income.
Four weeks after the court slammed DVAC and directing the wing to conduct a probe ‘as expeditiously as possible’ on a similar ‘disproportionate assets’ complaint leveled against Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam by organising secretary of DMK RS Bharathi, DMK leader has filed this plea before the court on Thursday.
In this petition, Bharathi, has submitted that on June 13 this year, DMK had lodged a complaint with the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption seeking a probe into ‘disproportionate assets’ allegedly amassed by Palaniswami.
According to him, Chief Minister had misused his official position as a minister when he served as minister for public works, highways and minor ports during former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa’s regime and now as the Chief Minister since February 2017 and awarded contracts for five road projects to his friends, benamis and close relatives and thereby causing loss to the exchequer.
The MP said he lodged a complaint with DVAC on June 13, but the agency, for reasons not known, had not taken any action on it.
Violating norms of the Transparency of Tenders Act 1998 Bharathi alleged that highway contracts were awarded to Chandrakanth Ramalingam, related to EPS through his daughter-in-law, P Subramaniam, father-in-law of EPS’ son, and Nagarajan Seyyadurai, an alleged benami and they had benefited from contracts.
Elaborating further the petitioner said the State Highways department is implementing a four-lane road in Oddanchatram-Dharapuram- Avinashipalayam, under the design, build, finance, operate, maintain and transfer (DBFOMT) method.
The total stretch of the project is 70.20 km and the original estimate was Rs 713 crore. However, subsequently the cost was increased to Rs 1,515 crore, including cash grant of Rs 315 crore.
The work order for this project is allotted to Ramalingam & Co in Erode, of which Chandrakanth Ramalingam, son of Ramalingam is one of the directors, apart from his father and sisters. Palaniswami, being Chief Minister and Minister for Highways awarded the contract worth Rs 1,515 crores to a firm owned by his son Mithun’s brother-in-law.
He alleged irregularities committed in World Bank assisted project - four laning of Thirunelveli-Sengottai-Kollam.
The project is being implemented at the rate of Rs 900 crore and given to a firm called Venkatachalapathy Constructions, the single bidder. He alleged that it is owned by P. Subramaniam, a benami of the CM.
He committed irregularities in the award of contracts for works relating to four-laning of Madurai Ring Road and Vandalur-Walajabad road. The fifth and last one is maintenance of all state highway roads in Ramanathapuram, Thiruvallur, Krishnagiri and Virudhunagar districts, involving Rs 2,000 crore. The beneficiaries are his benamis, close relatives of his son and others, Bharathi alleged.
As DVAC had not taken action on his complaint dated June 13, Bharathi has approached the court seeking direction to DVAC to register a case against him.
