The Tamil Nadu government has appointed retired Madras High Court Judge S Thangaraj to probe the construction of the new Assembly-cum-secretariat complex built by the previous DMK government. The complex involved an investment of over Rs 1,100 crore and was inaugurated by the Prime Minister.
In a GO, it said that the government had decided to appoint a Commission of Inquiry to inquire into the causes and circumstances leading to the alleged irregularities like excess expenditure, irregularities causing loss to the exchequer, whether all statutory approvals and clearances were obtained, inordinate delay and efficiency in standards of construction of the new secretariat complex in Omandurar Government Estate, Chennai. The commission will submit its report to the government within three months.
AIADMK leader and chief minister J Jayalalithaa, the day she took charge on May 16, directly went to the old secretariat at Fort St George and signed seven files. She defended her decision saying it was purely on grounds of “'administrative convenience.”
