A controversy has erupted over the recent transfer of senior officials in Tamil Nadu’s Public Works Department (PWD) and Highways Department, both under Minister Aadhav Arjuna.
Representatives of a government engineers’ association said the IAS officer Mangathram Sharma, who served as PWD Secretary, has been shifted out and replaced by Suntsongam Jatak Siru, who was earlier in the Transport Department.
However, they pointed out that Selvaraj, who has been serving as Highways Secretary for more than two years, was not initially moved. During his tenure, several tenders were floated under the previous DMK government, including a tender for the Uthandi road project valued at around ₹2,000 crore.
After the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam came to power, the minister cancelled the Uthandi road tender citing alleged irregularities. The association representatives argued that such irregularities could not have occurred without official support, and questioned why the officer who was secretary when the tender was issued was later shifted from Highways to PWD.
They also said efforts are under way to register a case related to the Uthandi road tender, and claimed the hurried transfer could be seen as an attempt to protect the official from legal scrutiny. Separately, they questioned why the IAS officer Siru, after being brought to PWD, needed to be moved to the Highways Department within 20 days.
