Madras HC issues notice to Greater Chennai Corporation on alleged irregularities in bridge construction across Otteri Nullah canal

Chennai: Madras high court has issued notice to Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) on a public interest writ petition seeking a vigilance probe into suspected financial irregularities of more than ₹90 lakh in the construction of a bridge across the Otteri Nullah canal in Chennai.

The PIL, filed by Prabhakaran of Choolaimedu, claimed collusion of retired and present engineers with the contractor, causing loss to the public exchequer in demolition and reconstruction of the bridge connecting Aspiran Garden 2nd Street and Kilpauk Garden Road.

The plea stated that ₹20 lakh was allocated towards land acquisition for the bridge project, ₹20 lakh for installation of streetlights, ₹20.25 lakh for shifting utility materials and ₹31.91 lakh towards other expenses, taking the total allocation to ₹92.21 lakh.

But according to information obtained under the Right to Information Act, the petitioner contended, no land acquisition work had been carried out except removal of encroachments and that only ₹11,470 had been spent on installation of lights.

The petition also claimed that no action had been taken on a complaint submitted to the DVAC on April 8 seeking action against the officials concerned. Recording the submissions, the division bench of judges G R Swaminathan and V Lakshminarayanan directed GCC to file its response and adjourned the hearing to next week.