Highways row: DMK wants CM to be booked

Drawing the DVAC’s attention to the GO and tender notice for maintenance of 462.21 km long highway in Thanjavur being for five years, against usual annual tenders, DMK organising secretary RS Bharathi, in his complaint, said, “This procedure of calling for tender for five years at a stretch instead of on annual basis is contrary to practice and procedures and further to keep away the eligible contractors and favour a bidder, who is already handpicked by Chief Minister Palaniswami, who is also holding the portfolio of the Minister for Highways Department.”

Remarking that the Performance Based Maintenance System (PBMS) was aimed to create a monopoly of only big contractors, with the intention of supporting contractors who are in the ruling party or close to the ruling party, the DMK Rajya Sabha MP said, “As per the GO the value of the work is Rs 1,239.68 crore and as per the tender notice it is Rs 1,165 crore. The value of the work has been hiked in the government order and this is detrimental to the public interests and the state exchequer. The same work done annually would cost just about 75-100 crore and for 5 years (60 months), including maintenance would not exceed Rs 500 crore. Thus an excess of Rs 700- 800 crore is in-built in the shift to five-year tender terms.”

Alleging that the mandatory procedure of prominently publishing tender in English and vernacular dailies for works over Rs 500 crore has not been adhered to intentionally, Bharathi said that regardless of all travel restrictions during the lockdown ruling out competitive biddings, the department has hurriedly processed opening the tender even during the lockdown period and only two pre-determined favoured bidders have all the papers ready for making their bid.

“It seems like the choice of contractor was decided prior by the ruling party even before issuing the GO and tender notice. Even at a time of such crisis the government machinery is being used to make undue pecuniary advantage by devising illegal methods to enrich few companies which are run by ruling party, people close to the ruling party and benamis of the Cabinet Ministers, in this case CM of Tamil Nadu himself,” the DMK complaint alleged, claiming to have reliable information that one Murugaperumal off RR Infra, Madurai and Kannan of Om Shakthi Construction, Villupuram, are actively abetting Chief Minister.