Rs 922 crore corruption in paddy transportation contract: Arappor to TN govt
In a petition to the chief minister and others, Jayaram Venkatesan, convener of Arappor Iyakkam, said that the organisation had submitted a complaint on March 11 regarding corruption to the tune of Rs 922 crore and unjust enrichment of a select set of firms.
Arappor Iyakkam convenor Jayaram Venkatesan
CHENNAI: Alleging that the contracts for paddy transportation have been given in an unjust and corrupt manner in connivance with central and State officials, anti-graft organisation Arappor Iyakkam urged Chief Minister MK Stalin to terminate the contracts in all districts.
In a petition to the chief minister and others, Jayaram Venkatesan, convener of Arappor Iyakkam, said that the organisation had submitted a complaint on March 11 regarding corruption to the tune of Rs 922 crore and unjust enrichment of a select set of firms.
He alleged that officials of the Food Department, Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) and central government's Food Corporation of India connived with the firms in the allotment of tenders.
"However, until date, we have neither seen a FIR by the investigative agencies nor action to terminate the contract by the concerned department. We are writing this representation to you all to request/demand that the tender contract filled with illegalities to unjustly enrich the contractor be terminated immediately so that hundreds of crores of our tax money is saved," the petition said.
Jayaram also pointed out that as per the tender notice, the period for the paddy transportation was between June 2023 and June 2025. However, when award of contract was made in July 2024, the work order was issued until June 2026, violating the period mentioned in the tender notice. This was illegal, he said, adding that the tender must end in June 2025 as per the tender notice.
"Inspite of pointing out the grave illegalities, the government has not been acting on the complaint to terminate the contract, recover the lost money, blacklist the contractors, take action on public servants responsible involved in illegal and collusive bidding leading to massive corruption," the petition pointed out.
In a sarcastic note, the organisation suggested the government to change the name of Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation to ‘Tamil Nadu Christy Supplies Corporation’ (after one of the firms that allegedly benefited from the shady deals), if there is no further action to terminate the corrupt contract by end of June 2025.