Flyover case FIR: a botched-up retaliation

By R. K. Radhakrishnan

CHENNAI, JULY 3. Of the 14 listed as accused in the flyover scam- FIR filed by the Crime Branch CID on a complaint by the Chennai Corporation Commissioner, Mr. J. T. Acharyulu, only a few are directly involved with the project.

The manner in which so many ``unconnected'' persons have been named, apart from exposing the ignorance of the investigating agency, set a bad precedent and made it seem as if this was a clear case of ``some individuals wanting to pay someone back in their own coin,'' feel a cross-section of officials and engineers.

For instance, the second accused, the former Chief Minister, Mr.M. Karunanidhi, had no role in the project at all, be it in policy, planning or execution. Nor did he chair any of the committees or issue directions on construction.

The names of the Former Local Administration Minister, Mr.Ko.Si. Mani, and Ms. S. Malathi, former Secretary, Municipal Administration and Water Supply department, are ``another set of inclusions'' which shows the agency in a ``poor light,'' the engineers and officials said. The State Government delegates responsibility to the local bodies to come up with solutions for various problems. This delegation was ``not unique to the Chennai Corporation.'' All public sector units also get the same powers. ``Delegation is basically to increase transparency in the system,'' one engineer commented.

Why spare Vetrivel?

Another former Minister, Mr. K. Ponmudi, is listed because he was also the chairman of the CMDA, and the project was part of the traffic action plan of the CMDA. The first accused, the Mayor Mr.M.K. Stalin, has been charged since he was the chairman of the traffic improvement committee (TIC), which recommended the construction. ``It has to be noted that even the Opposition, including the leader of the Opposition in the council, Mr. P. Vetrivel, is a member of the committee. Everything was done with his consent as well. So why does his name not figure in the list of the accused,'' asks a DMK leader.

The councillor, Mr. A. K. Jagadeesan, is the head of the Works Committee and another councillor, Mr. R. S. Sridhar, is the head of the Taxation and Finance Committee.

But none of them has any individual powers; it was the TIC which recommended construction. The members of the committee include industry associations like the CII, organisations such as the Railways, the Highways department and some non-governmental organisations. The TIC recommendations were looked into by another panel, the High Level Committee. But this committee, headed by the former Chief Secretary, Mr. K. A. Nambiar, had no role in the execution of the project; it was more of a body which could look into the merits of the TIC recommendations. The former Chief Secretary, Mr. A. P. Muthuswami, gets roped in as well since he was the Housing Secretary at that point of time when the CMDA was considering flyovers as an option.

Mr. M. T. Sethuraman, former Superintending Engineer, who spent the last two years before his retirement to complete the project, is also an accused since he was the SE level official who accorded technical sanction. In fact, there is a lot of resentment and disillusionment in the Corporation because of this. Most engineers remember him as someone who spent all his time, day and night, on the project. ``And now look what he got. Much like Mr. Ramanathan (one SE who was suspended on the last day of his service) this man has also to keep walking up and down the court halls,'' said one engineer.

Dr. Srinivasan, who was appointed Special Representative (technical) of the Mayor, also gets pulled in though his position was purely advisory. Based on his experience, he suggested the mini-flyovers. The role of the builder, Mr. P. Rajashankar's (Mayor's special representative - monitoring and public relations) too was limited to bringing about coordination among the various agencies within and outside the Corporation to get the job done on schedule.

Mr. N. Raghavan, chief executive of L&T Ramboll, a consultant, comes into the picture since he was the consultant for the project. But this entire episode was handled by the TNUDP, which has a reputation for adhering to all guidelines laid down by the World Bank. The TNUDP appointed L & T Ramboll (this is different from L & T) to carry out the consultancy and the firm based its work on the Bill of Quantities and other specifications prescribed by the TNUDP.

Mr.P. Kolappan, a former Commissioner of the Corporation, is also among the non-arrested accused since he was the chief executive when the original estimates were prepared.

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