Minister’s brother ‘inspects’ civic works in presence of officials

Corporation officials claim he was there only as a ‘social enthusiast’

Municipal Administration Minister S.P. Velumani’s younger brother S.P. Anbarasan (third right) interacting with Corporation officials at a Smart City project site at Ukkadam in Coimbatore recently.

In a space of a week, S.P. Anbarasan, the brother of Municipal Administration Minister S.P. Velumani, had inspected two separate civic-related works in Coimbatore in the presence of senior officials of the City Municipal Corporation. On both occasions, the Coimbatore Corporation officially circulated photographs of Mr. Anbarasan identifying him as a ‘social enthusiast’.

In the latest photograph (November 25), Mr. Anbarasan was seen inspecting the Smart Cities Mission work in progress in Valankulam tank even as officials led by Corporation Commissioner Sravan Kumar Jatavath and Deputy Commissioner S. Prasanna Ramasamy were in attendance. On November 18, he was seen viewing an exhibition on bulk waste generators processing waste in the presence of officials.

Asked about this, Corporation officials, who were present at both events, claimed that as a ‘social enthusiast’ Mr. Anbarasan had visited the exhibition. On November 25, he was on his way to the office of a non-governmental organisation that was near Valankulam tank. On seeing the officials inspecting the spot, he got down from his vehicle and had a word with them, an official claimed, adding that a few other ‘social activists’ too were there but were outside the ‘picture frame’.

Mr. Jatavath did not respond to text messages on the issue. DMK Singanallur MLA N. Karthik criticised the officials for ‘promoting’ Mr. Anbarasan by circulating the photographs and pointed out that this was against rules.