Hard disk theft won’t shield culprits: Minister R Nirmalkumar

CHENNAI: Electricity Minister R Nirmalkumar on Thursday said the alleged theft of hard disks from the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) headquarters was under investigation and that police were probing the motive behind the incident, even as the department had begun securing and backing up sensitive records.

Addressing reporters, the minister said the matter was first reported internally last month, following which the vigilance wing conducted a preliminary departmental inquiry before a complaint was lodged with the police.

He said that arrests have been made even as further investigation is ongoing. "It would not be appropriate for me to comment on the motive or those involved while the investigation is in progress. The police will provide a complete report once the probe is over," he said.

Nirmalkumar said instructions had been issued to secure all documents and digital records at the headquarters and to take backups of sensitive data stored on computers and servers. The exercise includes records relating to tenders issued over the past five years, contract employees, coal procurement, solar and green energy approvals, and other key administrative files.

The minister said the authorities were also reviewing records related to contracts awarded to private firms for thermal power stations and other electricity sector projects. He added that all sensitive data was being re-evaluated and validated as part of the exercise.

Referring to the transformer procurement case already handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Nirmalkumar said several officials had been suspended in recent months and that investigators were examining whether the theft of the hard disk could be linked to actions taken against certain individuals.

He declined to confirm reports that 18 hard disks were missing, saying a comprehensive audit was still underway. "There are several legacy systems, old servers and data repositories. We do not want to disclose numbers until the verification process is complete," he said.

The minister said preliminary findings suggested the involvement of certain employees and that CCTV footage was being examined as part of the investigation. He asserted that no individual could intimidate or manipulate a government institution and warned of strict legal action against those found responsible.

He maintained that even if hard disks had been removed, relevant information could still be available in digital backups and physical records. "No one can assume they will escape accountability merely by taking away a hard disk," he said.

Regarding speculation about the possible involvement of former officials or political figures, the Minister said it would be improper to draw conclusions before the investigation is completed.

Responding to questions on recent power outages in Chennai and other parts of the State, Nirmalkumar attributed many of the outages to infrastructure constraints, sudden drops in wind power generation, ageing transformers, cable faults and inadequate substation capacity.

The minister said the State required around 250 additional substations to handle growing demand and acknowledged that infrastructure upgrades had lagged in recent years. He also pointed to staff shortages, claiming that only about 70,000 employees were working against a requirement of 1.4 lakh personnel.

He alleged that poor-quality coal procured in previous years had affected the efficiency of thermal power stations and contributed to operational issues. The government, he said, had begun corrective measures and was preparing long-term plans to strengthen the power sector.

"These issues cannot be resolved in a month. But we have started the process of identifying deficiencies and implementing corrective measures," he said.