Tamil Nadu to Decide Soon on DVAC Probe into Senthil Balaji Over Tangedco Scam Allegations

The Tamil Nadu government is poised to make a swift decision on whether the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) will register a case against former Electricity Minister V. Senthil Balaji and others in connection with an alleged Rs 397 crore scam in the procurement of distribution transformers by Tangedco, now split into three entities.

Advocate General PS Raman conveyed this to the Madras High Court on Thursday during a hearing before Justice P Velmurugan. The case stems from a writ petition filed by NGO Arappor Iyakkam, which urged the DVAC to act on its July 2023 complaint accusing Tangedco officials and contractors of corruption.

The NGO’s managing trustee, Jayaram Venkatesan, alleged “blatant corruption and gross irregularities” in the procurement of 45,800 transformers between 2021 and 2023, costing Tangedco Rs 1,182 crore across 10 tenders. The complaint pointed to evidence of cartelization, collusion, and syndicate formation among bidders and public servants in seven tenders, with officials allegedly ignoring inflated prices, resulting in significant financial losses.

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Advocate V Suresh, representing Arappor Iyakkam, requested an adjournment to present detailed arguments, which the court granted, postponing the hearing. The impending decision follows heightened scrutiny of Tangedco’s practices, with recent DVAC actions exposing bribery cases involving its officials, including arrests for accepting bribes as low as Rs 15,000 for power connections.

The case against Balaji, a prominent DMK leader, has also drawn political fire, with opposition leaders alleging systemic corruption in the state’s power utility.

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