Dissident DMK councillors join forces with AIADMK in Kanchi, file complaint against engineer

CHENNAI: Opening another front in the battle against the Kancheepuram Mayor, the ward councillors belonging to the ruling DMK and opposition AIADMK came together yet again to lodge a complaint against a senior corporation engineer over awarding tenders against norms.

The councillors filed a complaint with the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) alleging that the engineer violated norms in awarding a tender worth Rs 85 lakh without the approval of or even intimation to the Corporation Council.

On Thursday, a group of 17, DMK and AIADMK councillors filed a complaint to the Kancheepuram unit of the DVAC against corporation engineer Ganesan for passing two tenders valued at Rs 80 lakh for renovating a bus stop in Kancheepuram town and another tender for Rs 5 lakh to catch stray cattle roaming on the roads.

According to the councillors, the tenders were passed without a proper announcement and alleged that they were awarded to people close to the engineer. Though their immediate target was Ganesan, the councillors also questioned the Mayor, Mahalakshmi Yuvaraj of the DMK, for the delay in conducting council meetings and the lack of transparency on the part of the officials while floating and awarding tenders.

The ward members asked the Mayor to cancel the tenders and demanded the issuance of fresh tenders as per the norms and guidelines set for local bodies by the Municipal Administration Department.

This is the continuation of a simmering feud between the councillors and Mayor Mahalakshmi, which worsened to even reaching a no-trust motion. However, Municipal Administration Minister and senior DMK leader KN Nehru and other party leaders intervened and ensured that the disgruntled councillors did not turn up on the day of vote on the motion, enabling the Mayor to retain the position