2 weeks Ago
Chennai: Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption has slapped a corruption case on R Vaithilingam , making him the second former-AIADMK minister to be booked for multi-crore corruption in the past three days. On Thursday, the state agency had registered a similar FIR against former AIADMK minister S P Velumani for corruption in Smart City projects. Both cases were registered on the basis of complaints made and documents furnished by the anti-corruption NGO, Arappor Iyakkam, which also kickstarted a campaign to ‘wake up the DVAC in slumber' to highlight delay in registration of cases.
The Sept 19 DVAC FIR cited Vaithilingam, his sons Prabu and Shanmugaprabu, director of Shriram Properties K R Ramesh, Muthammal Estates and its director R Paneerselvam, besides four group firms of Shriram, as accused in the bribe-for-planning permission case. The govt accorded permission to register the FIR in July 2022. DVAC said Shriram Properties in 2016 routed a 27.
9 crore bribe to a shell company run by Vaithilingam's sons for permission to the firm by Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) for constructing 1,453 residential flats and IT buildings on 57.94 acres at Perungalathur. Vaithilingam, who was housing minister and CMDA chairman from 2011 to 2016, now represents Orthanadu constituency in the state assembly.
Shriram Properties sought permission from CMDA in Dec 2013 for the construction of the buildings and the file was approved on Feb 24, 2014, after a bribe of 27.9 crore was paid to the minister through a detour to avoid direct payment and easier detection, DVAC said. Muthammal Estates Pvt Ltd, a shell company of Vaithilingam's sons, showed the sum as an unsecured loan given by Bharath Coal Chemicals Ltd, a group firm of Shriram Properties, DVAC said.
The money was used by Muthammal Estates to purchase land at Pappakuruchi in Trichy, the agency said. First, the firm bought a 11,400 sq ft plot in Oct 2017 for 1.5 crore and then purchased a 1.
81 lakh sq ft plot for 22.68 crore in Feb 2019. The DVAC's FIR says Muthammal Estates didn't have prior experience and its revenue from operations from FY 2015 to FY 2020 was zero.
The 27.9 crore given was not based either on its financial capacity or ability to repay, it said. Moreover, Bharat Coal Chemicals was not in the business of financial lending and the sum was a bribe for securing planning permit, DVAC said.
The money given by Bharat Coal Chemicals was routed through Abhiyantha Project Engineering Private Ltd, Shashvatha Renewable Energy, and Viniyoga Distribution Services, group firms of Shriram Properties, DVAC said, adding that the companies did not have any capacity to provide such huge amounts to Bharat Coal Chemicals and were used as a channel to divert funds meant to be paid as a bribe by Shriram Properties..
