Saturday, Dec 28, 2002
Saturday, Dec 28, 2002 |
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Tamil Nadu-Chennai
By Our Staff Reporter
The Deputy Mayor, `Karate' R. Thiagarajan, today informed the Corporation Council that the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption had gathered evidence of discrepancies in the quantity of materials used. The construction of flyovers and the contracts for road-cut restoration given during the DMK era are already being probed by the present regime. An investigation into the allegations made by the Opposition parties revealed excess billing in terms of the weight of grills, doors and windows, said a statement tabled by the Deputy Mayor. The measurement book too had excess recording of measurements of steel. Based on the findings of the enquiry, the DVAC filed a case in the principal sessions court, vigilance department sources said. Investigations were now on to establish the extent of irregularities and pecuniary benefits that accrued. The alleged discrepancy came to light when the cost of construction of classrooms on the first floor of buildings was found to be higher than that of the buildings constructed for schools earlier. The dimensions of the classrooms were uniform, with an equal number of doors and windows. The cost of construction varied from Rs. 300 to 450 per sq. ft., indicating the anomaly. However, the classrooms on the ground floor had varying cost, owing to different foundations and construction methods used. Vigilance sources said the DVAC had received files pertaining to 120 buildings from the Corporation Buildings Department. To begin with, the agency last month collected, with PWD technical expertise, samples of construction materials from 10 buildings in Zone 9. The DVAC also sought details of more buildings spread over Central and South Chennai (Zone 5 to 10) which were constructed during the DMK regime. The Government ordered a detailed probe based on a complaint submitted to the Governor in May 2001 by Opposition parties in the Council including the erstwhile Tamil Maanila Congress, the AIADMK, the Congress, the CPI and the Muslim League, the Deputy Mayor said. The issue was raised today by M. Subramaniam (DMK), who pointed out that the agency had taken samples of construction material from various school buildings in the Saidapet Corporation Zone and left the damaged spots unattended. Showing pictures of the damaged portions, he said the buildings would lose their stability if the damage was not attended to immediately. Similarly, certain spots in the IIT mini-flyover which were dug into, were left unattended. Metal columns were left exposed to the elements, which might weaken the structure, he said. Mr. Subramaniam was interrupted by the Deputy Mayor, who wanted him to refrain from speaking about the flyovers as the matter was sub judice. Mr. Subramaniam said non-destructive methods of investigation could be used with the technical expertise of institutions such as the Structural Engineering Research Institute. But the investigating agency, which had taken samples from 25 buildings in Zone 9 housing Corporation schools and noon meal centres, dug into walls or pillars in some places, while in others, chunks of masonry were removed from the ceiling. The ruling party leader, V. Sukumar Babu, gave the assurance that repairs would be taken up soon.
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