MADURAI: Madurai MP S Venkatesan, on Friday, accused the union government of appointing a company under CBI inquiry as the project management consultant for AIIMS, Madurai. Salem-based Mukesh & Associates, in a joint venture with Japan-based Nippon Koei India Pvt Ltd, was selected for the position in June 2023.
Denying the allegation, D Mukesh, director of Mukesh & Associates, stated that one of their competitors had spread the rumour. He asked for the competitor to produce proper evidence to back the claim of his company being under CBI enquiry.
He added that, in 2008, they were among the many firms that had undertaken projects under Employees' State Insurance Corporation in Chennai and Coimbatore. At the time, there had been a CBI enquiry related to the projects, with the bureau filing an FIR on various persons and firms. Mukesh & Associates was named in a document that simply listed the companies that had undertaken projects, and there is no pending case or inquiry on the company, Mukesh said.
Executive director of AIIMS, Madurai, M Hanumantha Rao, said that only after careful consideration of all the factors and obtaining clearance from the union government, did they choose the company as a project management consultant. Regarding the allegation, he clarified that Mukesh & Associates was not even among the primary accused in the investigation.
Mukesh also mentioned that they were planning to commence construction work on AIIMS, Madurai, by the end of the year or by January 2024. "We are also the consultant company for constructing the new tower block of Government Rajaji Hospital, Madurai. We have been involved in numerous projects like these, and the allegations are likely the work of frustrated rivals," said Mukesh. He added that a defamation lawsuit will be filed soon.