Anti-graft NGO seeks inquiry into Highways tender

In a letter to Finance Secretary S Krishnan and Highways Department Secretary A Karthik, Jayaram Venkatesan of Arappor Iyakkam pointed out that the government had cancelled the Rs 1,165 crore tender named Thanjavur performance-based maintenance contract (PBMC) after complaints alleging fixing of tenders and also that even good roads were selected for relaying and maintenance.

"However, the Highways Department floated the same Thanjavur PBMC tender by splitting the tender into two with tender values of Rs 655 crore and Rs 493 crore. We have reliably learnt that the current tenders have also been prefixed to specific people. The name has been changed to area-based comprehensive road improvements, strengthening and maintenance (AB-CRISM)," Jayaram Venkatesan alleged.

The letter added that the many roads selected for widening have been chosen on the basis of inflated traffic flows and that there was not enough traffic flow that mandates widening of those roads.

Jayaram Venkatesan urged the Finance and Highways departments Secretaries to cancel the AB-CRISM tenders immediately, and instead focus on roads that were in poor condition while finalising plans for re-laying.