S. Thangaraj, former Madras High Court Judge, will head the Commission of Inquiry that will go into the causes and circumstances leading to alleged irregularities associated with the construction of the new Secretariat complex on Omandurar Government Estate.
His appointment was announced by the State government on Wednesday.
The single-member Commission would complete its inquiry and submit its report to the government within three months, according to a government order issued by the Public (Buildings) Department.
It would inquire into excess expenditure, irregularities causing loss to the exchequer, obtaining of all statutory approvals and clearances and inordinate delay and deficiency in standards of construction.
The Commission would also examine whether there was any lapse or abuse of position on the part of the government officials/public servants. If such allegations were proved true, it would suggest suitable ways and means to prevent such recurrence. It would also make appropriate recommendations as the Commission deemed fit.
The relevant provisions of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952, would apply, the order added.
In his address to the Assembly early this month, Governor Surjit Singh Barnala announced the government’s decision to constitute a Commission of Inquiry to go into the Secretariat complex project.
On the victory of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in the Assembly elections, the Secretariat moved back to Fort St. George last month.
