2 months ago
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The Madras High Court connected Thursday called for the minutes of the meetings of the tender committees which had cleared the authorities contracts for procuring thousands of organisation transformers during the tenure of erstwhile Electricity Minister V. Senthilbalaji betwixt 2021 and 2023 erstwhile a reported nonaccomplishment of ₹397 crore had been caused to the nationalist exchequer owed to collusive bidding.
First Division Bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G. Arul Murugan besides ordered that a study of the preliminary enquiry being conducted by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (DVAC) into the contented indispensable beryllium placed earlier the tribunal connected March 9, 2026. The directions were issued connected a 2024 writ petition filed by anti corruption organisation Arappor Iyakkam.
When Advocate General P.S. Raman submitted the DVAC had commenced a preliminary enquiry into the issue, the judges wanted the investigating bureau to taxable a presumption study for perusal during the adjacent hearing. Wondering however the officials could person allowed collusive bidding successful contracts worthy ₹1,182.88 crore, the judges besides wanted to peruse the minutes of the tender committees.
Representing Arapppor Iyakkam, its counsel V. Suresh told the tribunal the organisation transformers were instrumentality meant for stepping down the voltage utilized successful organisation lines to a level that could beryllium utilized by the extremity consumers. Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) procures these transformers successful assorted capacities, ranging from 25 KVA to 500 KVA, depending connected the load capableness requirements.
The procurement takes spot done competitory bidding by inviting tenders done www.tntenders.gov.in from entities which conscionable the eligibility criteria fixed by the tender inviting authority. Arappor Iyakkam analysed 10 tenders floated betwixt 2021 and 2023 for procurement of 45,800 organisation transformers. The full worth of these tenders floated by Tangedco amounted to ₹1,182.88 crore.
The petitioner organisation examined the fig of bidders, the worth quoted by each bidder, the prevailing marketplace complaint and specified different factors to find retired if determination were immoderate irregularities. The workout led to the uncovering that successful 7 of the 10 tenders determination was wide grounds of unjust enrichment to the contractors done collusive bidding and cartelisation and resultant nonaccomplishment to the tune of ₹397 crore.
“It is absorbing to enactment that successful each of the 10 tenders, much than 26 bidders were shown to person participated, thereby creating an evident representation of steadfast competition, but what is to beryllium noted is successful each tenders, astir each bidders had quoted precisely the aforesaid terms corrected to the aforesaid decimal points too,” the affidavit filed by Arappor Iyakkam read.
It went connected to state: “It is mathematically adjacent to a zero probability for much than 20 bidders to person quoted the nonstop aforesaid complaint successful tenders. The lone logical and plausible decision that follows from this information is that these bidders person conspired and colluded amongst themselves to prefix the complaint and had frankincense snuffed retired the contention and made a mockery of the tender process.”
Asserting determination were materials to fishy the engagement of the past Minister Senthilbalaji, the past Tangedco president and managing manager Rajesh Lakhoni and the past Financial Controller (Purchase) V. Kasi successful the full process, the petitioner organisation had included each 3 of them by sanction arsenic respondents to its writ petition and sought a absorption to the DVAC to registry a First Information Report.
