TN BJP chief questions renovation work before tender's finalisation

Chennai, Aug 19 (IANS) Tamil Nadu BJP leader Nainar Nagendran has questioned how renovation work on the Chief Minister’s Office could begin before the tender process was completed, alleging irregularities and demanding that the government disclose all details. 

In a statement, Nagendran targeted Minister Aadhav Arjuna over his response in the Assembly to questions concerning the tender for relocating and renovating the Chief Minister’s Office.

The minister had reportedly said that the tender process had not yet been completed and that the proposed changes were intended to improve the convenience of government officials. 

Nagendran alleged that these explanations concealed several crucial facts. If the tender had not been finalised, he asked, on what authority had renovation work in the Chief Minister’s room already begun.

He also questioned whether the government had made a prior arrangement to award the contract to a particular person or firm.

The BJP leader sought clarification on whether similar government works had previously been undertaken before contracts were formally awarded. He further questioned why a newspaper advertisement mentioned an estimated project cost of Rs 5.54 crore, while the corresponding online tender reportedly displayed “NA” instead of specifying an amount.

Nagendran alleged that withholding the tender value online could have been intended to discourage other eligible contractors from participating. He demanded that the government explain the discrepancy and make the tender process transparent.

Responding to references made to former Chief Minister late J. Jayalalithaa, Nagendran said she had considered shifting the entire Secretariat to another location rather than modernising only her own office.

He asked why the present government was focussing solely on renovating the Chief Minister’s section.

He also rejected the argument that the renovation was being carried out for the convenience of officials, pointing out that all ministers work with secretaries and other staff.

Isolating one section for extensive renovation raised legitimate questions about whether the project was an unnecessary luxury, he said.

Nagendran called upon the government to disclose the actual reasons for upgrading the Chief Minister’s room and to release documentary evidence concerning the tender. He said the administration must answer the allegations of favouritism and graft and place all facts before the public.