MADURAI: Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation Limited (TANTRANSCO) has issued notice to four employees of Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (TANGEDCO) to pay a total of Rs 30.6 lakh for availing of house rent allowance (HRA) despite staying in government residential quarters at Pasumalai near Thiruparankundram.
According to sources in TANTRANSCO, an assistant engineer had been residing in the quarters for 15 years while two staff lived there 10 years each and one staff for one year. The issue came to light recently during an audit.
An official from TANTRANSCO (Madurai Division) said, “The staff quarters are reserved for department staff. Since there were vacancies, our officers allowed some staff members of TANGEDCO to stay on a temporary basis, since the facility is located near Madurai city. But some staff members had misused the provision, causing loss. We found that four staff members of the Tangedco (Madurai division) were staying in the quarters without paying any money or rent for several years.”
Based on the findings, the accounts division calculated the rent based on the guideline value of the properties in and around Pasumalai of Thiruparankundram. The assistant engineer has been served a notice to pay Rs 18 lakh, a senior staff member was issued notice for Rs 8 lakh, while a junior staff member has been told to pay Rs 4 lakh and another has to pay Rs 60,000 as rent.
“All of them have vacated the premises after the audit findings, but we will recover the money from them,” he said. Speaking to TNIE, Superintendent Engineer of Madurai zone, R Rajeswaran said, “We issued notice to these persons on the basis of the audit. We have formed a committee, and the members will investigate and take appropriate action.”