Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam organisation secretary R.S. Bharathi has moved the Madras High Court alleging irregularities in award of the ₹1,165 crore worth road maintenance project in order to favour “a bidder hand-picked by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami holding the portfolio of State Highways Department.”
The petitioner sought a direction to the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption to register a First Information Report (FIR) on the basis of a complaint lodged by him on May 6.
In an affidavit, filed through senior counsel N.R. Elango, he said a Government Order was issued on February 19 for a Performance Based Maintenance Contract for widening, strengthening and improvements to State highways and district roads for a length of 462.211 km in Thanjavur, Orathanadu, Pattukottai and Peravoorani sub division.
The GO estimated the value of the work to be ₹1,239.68 crore. However, a notification issued on February 25 calling for tenders estimated the project to cost only ₹1,165 crore. As per the tender notification, the successful bidder would be given the contract of strengthening and improving the roads for five years.
Annual tenders
“Generally, road laying and maintenance works are awarded on the basis of annual tenders but strangely this tender notification was issued for five years… The same work done annually would cost only about ₹75 to ₹100 crore a year, including maintenance and would not exceed ₹500 crore for five years,” the petitioner claimed.
“Introducing the PBMC tender system for the first time is aimed at creating a monopoly of only big contractors with the intention of supporting contractors who are in the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or with a close nexus to the ruling party. This has affected the small contractors who always bid for an annual tender instead of a five-year tender,” he added.
Further pointing out that the tender was being finalised when the State was fighting COVID-19, the litigant said, “Even at a time of a pandemic, the government machinery is being used to derive undue pecuniary advantage by devising illegal methods to enrich a few companies which are run by the ruling party, people close to the party and benamis of ministers.”