CHENNAI: A day after screenshots of a tender notification issued by the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department went viral on social media over allegations that it was closed within six hours of publication, two officials were placed under suspension on Wednesday.
The short-term tender, valued at Rs 16.83 lakh for the construction of an overhead tank in Kancheepuram district, had triggered allegations that the process was pre-fixed, as it was closed on the very same day it was issued. The notification was subsequently withdrawn due to violations in the tendering process.
In this connection, K. Shanthi, former Block Development Officer (BDO) of Kancheepuram and currently posted at Walajabad Panchayat Union, and Kayalvizhi, Assistant Engineer of Kancheepuram Panchayat Union, have been placed under suspension.
The suspension order was issued on Wednesday by K. Aarthy, Project Director of the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), Kancheepuram.
In the order, Aarthy stated that administrative approval had been granted for the allocation of Rs 16.83 lakh towards the construction of a 30,000-litre overhead tank at Karaipettai village in Kancheepuram Panchayat Union under the 15th Central Finance Commission Grant scheme.
Originally, the tender notification was displayed at the office of the Block Development Officer (BDO), Kancheepuram, on May 12, with May 19 fixed as the deadline for submission.
As per tender norms, the online tender notice should have been made available for download by participants from May 12 onwards. However, the tender notice was prepared only on May 18 and uploaded online on May 19, following which it was cancelled.
The order stated that the short-term tender had been called by authorities at the BDO office without obtaining approval from the competent authority.
For violating tender norms and issuing a short-term tender without proper approval, the BDO and the Assistant Engineer attached to Kancheepuram Panchayat Union were placed under suspension.
The violation in the tender process occurred within a day after the T Nagar MLA and TVK general secretary N. Anand took over as Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, triggering severe backlash on social media platforms.