CHENNAI: The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) has booked a corruption case against former housing minister R Vaithilingam, his sons and Shriram properties in a bribe for planning permission case.
In the FIR filed by the TN government’s anti-corruption agency on September 19, it is stated that Shriram properties routed Rs 27.9 crore bribe to a shell company run by Vaithilingam’s sons in lieu of planning permission given to the conglomerate for construction of 1453 residential and IT buildings on a 57.94 acre plot in Perungalathur near Chennai.
Vaithilingam was housing minister from 2011 to 2016 when AIADMK was in power at the state. He is currently a legislator from Orathanadu constitutency in Thanjavur district.
The FIR arises from a complaint filed by Jayaram Venkatesan, convenor of NGO Arappor Iyakkam. The TN government had accorded permission to file the FIR in this case in July 2022.
Shriram properties had submitted a planning permission to Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) in December 2013 for construction of 1453 buildings. The file was pending till February 2016 and was approved on February 24 that year, DVAC said.
The approval was only given after a bribe of Rs 27.9 crore was paid to the minister through a circuitous route to avoid direct payment and easier detection, DVAC said.
The bribe was paid to Muthammal Estates Pvt Ltd, a shell company of Vaithilingam’s sons and was shown as an unsecured loan given by Bharath Coal Chemicals Ltd, a group firm of Shriram Properties, DVAC said.
A detailed money trail has been given by DVAC in the FIR regarding this.
Vaithilingam, his sons Prabu and Shanmugaprabu and Muthammal Estates, director of Shriram Properties KR Ramesh, R Paneerselvam another director of Muthammal Estates and Shriram Properties and four other group firms have been named as accused in the case.