CHENNAI: School Education Minister A Rajmohan on Monday said the department would cancel all book procurement orders placed so far, including those for the yet-to-be-inaugurated Kamarajar Grand Library in Tiruchy.
The government would consult scholars and the Booksellers and Publishers Association of South India to frame a transparent procurement policy and prevent irregularities, he said.
Addressing reporters at the Connemara Public Library in Chennai, he said the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) had begun an inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the procurement of fake and AI-generated books.
The owner of Agal Vilakku Publications, suspected to have supplied several such books, would also be investigated. DVAC sources confirmed that officials had conducted an inquiry at the Anna Centenary Library but were yet to register an FIR.
The minister said 523 books published by Agal Vilakku had been identified at the Connemara Library alone. Over 3,000 suspected AI-generated books had also been found at Periyar Arivulagam in Coimbatore. Libraries across the state have been asked to identify such books and seal them in boxes to aid the investigation, he added.
Responding to criticism that books carrying authors’ names with the prefix ‘Vijay’ were being highlighted to suggest that the irregularities took place under the TVK government, he cited books attributed to authors such as Nivedha Paulraj, whose names allegedly resemble those of actors. The books identified at Connemara bore seals dated back to the previous DMK regime, he said.
Rajmohan further said that a committee would be constituted, if necessary, to investigate the alleged scam, which, he said, could not have happened without political and intellectual backing. “No one will be spared, and several fraudulent publications involved would be found during investigation,” he added.