MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court recently sought response from Sivaganga district authorities on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) which alleged irregularities in the construction of an outpatient building at a Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Kandaramanickam village in Sivaganga district.
The litigant K Karuppiah, a resident of the village, stated that the above building was constructed at a cost of Rs 80 lakh under ‘Namaku Naamae’ scheme of which Rs 38 lakh was contributed by one of the villagers. Though the construction was completed as early as in 2023, the building has not been opened for the public for the past two years. However, despite not being used, the building has developed cracks, indicating that substandard materials were used for the construction, he alleged. Due to the non-availability of the outpatient building, the villagers are forced to travel to the government facility in Thirupathur which is nearly 10 km away, he added.
He requested the court to direct the authorities to inspect the new building, carry out repair works and open it for public use, along with taking action against the contractor concerned.
Hearing the plea recently, a bench of justices G Jayachandran and KK Ramakrishnan asked whether any action has been taken against the contractor and if a tender amount has been paid to him. The case was adjourned for a month for filing response.