More malpractices by Chennai CMRL contract staff come to light

CHENNAI: After a top-up scam that was unearthed recently, two other malpractices have come to light where contract staff at the Metro stations of the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) were allegedly involved. In one of the incidents, which unfolded at Pachaiyappa College Metro station in December, the operator involved was fired after he was found guilty of fraud.

As per sources within the CMRL, in 2023, contract staff working at the stations were found misusing the offer of one-day passes, also called tourist cards, to their own advantage.

Explaining how the tourist card was misused, a source with the Metro Rail told DT Next, "Every time a passenger returned the 24-hour tourist card before its expiration, operators on contract at some Metro stations kept the card active and re-issued the already active cards to new customers. By doing this, the operator pocketed the deposit money of Rs 50. This went on at multiple stations for over a year.”

In a similar incident of fraud at Pachaiyappa College Metro station, it was found that a contract staff had cornered a few students of the college who were in the vicinity of the station and fined them for causing nuisance, under the Metro Railways (Operation and Maintenance) Act, 2002.

DT Next has learnt that the contract employee of the Metro station had bullied students to pay ‘nuisance fees’ for indulging in public display of affection within the CMRL premises. "Students paid the fees assuming they were paying the CMRL management. However, the employee was pocketing the money. He was fired after the corruption was brought to CMRL’s notice,” said the source.

A higher official with the CMRL said the operator was fired for fraud and for illegally pocketing money.