Chennai: Four engineers associated with construction of a students’ hostel for College of Poultry Production and Management, Hosur, and administrative buildings for Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, in several parts of the state, are now in soup as local audit has revealed mathematical errors and excess payment to contractors for about Rs 34 lakh.
Due to political connections and engineers’ proximity to university top brass, the audit report was hushed up for the past few years and now with the change of guard in the state, the issues are raked up by retired professors and disgruntled teaching staff.
On Tuesday, professor P.I. Ganesan, who retired last month as director for animal health studies, filed a complaint with CM special cell seeking investigations into building construction matters of the university.
According to confidential papers available with DC, as many as three buildings came under scanner during 2012-14 exposing the nexus between the government deputed engineers, university administrators and the contractors and the same was raised in the Tanuvas board meetings held during 2015.
“These illegalities are continuing till date and the buildings constructed during the 2014 to 2016 have bigger nexus and even the concrete mix used is of poor quality and the measurement books were fudged in case of dimensions. These buildings have now started looking old and are developing cracks and leak whenever it rains”, alleged professor Ganesan.
“The room measurement and the periphery measurements in a few buildings at Hosur had drastic changes and there were excess payments to the contractors and same was collected back from the contractor, but I don’t know about the disciplinary action against the engineers and the estate officers,” said a source associated with state local fund audit department wishing not to be named.
Madras high court had also admitted a petition against Tanuvas where the recruitment process is alleged to have violated UGC and reservation norms. Administrative officials were not willing to interact with the media.
