Follow TNM’s WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.
The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday, September 15, relieved Tambaram City Municipal Corporation Commissioner S Balachander IAS of his duties and placed him on the compulsory wait list, following allegations of tender irregularities raised by anti-corruption organisation Arappor Iyakkam.
According to the order issued by Chief Secretary M Sai Kumar, Balachander was relieved with immediate effect, and R Saranya IAS, the Commissioner of Avadi City Municipal Corporation, has been given additional charge until further orders.
The action came hours after Arappor Iyakkam submitted a complaint to the state government, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) and other senior officials of Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department (MAWS), alleging irregularities in the tendering of two civic works worth a combined Rs 45.90 lakh.
The organisation alleged that both works had been completed and inaugurated before the corresponding tenders were opened for bidding. Both the works come under the MAWS department, which is retained by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay.
One of the works flagged by Arappor was the installation of an Ashoka Pillar, along with landscaping and beautification work, at the Perungalathur Bridge Roundana.
The tender, numbered 2026_DMA_691566_2, was valued at Rs 27.30 lakh. According to the tender details cited by Arappor, it was published on the Tamil Nadu Tenders Portal on August 6, 2026, with bids scheduled to be opened on August 24.
However, Arappor pointed out that the work had already been completed and inaugurated on July 29, eight days before the tender was published. Human Resources Management Minister and local MLA D Sarathkumar, along with officials have also attended the inauguration.
Arappor alleged that the work had been decided upon before the bidding process and that the subsequent tender was uploaded to regularise the allocation and facilitate payment to the contractor.
The second work involved the installation of a Save Water Concept statue, along with landscaping and beautification work, at the Chitlapakkam Roundana.
The tender, numbered 2026_DMA_691566_1, was valued at Rs 18.60 lakh. It was also published on August 6, with the bid opening scheduled for August 24.
Arappor alleged that this work had already been completed and inaugurated by the same minister on August 10, before the scheduled opening of bids.
The organisation described the act as a major irregularity in which works were completed and inaugurated before tenders were called and alleged collusion between officials and contractors.
It also raised questions over the status of the two tenders on the government’s online tender portal.
According to the organisation, both tenders continued to be shown as “To_be_opened” even after the scheduled date for opening bids had passed.
Arappor alleged that this prevented the public from knowing which contractors had participated, who had emerged as the lowest bidder and how the tender process had progressed.
The organisation said it analysed 565 tenders issued by the corporation over the previous four months and found that 309 were still listed as “To_be_opened”, while 194 were at the bid-opening stage, 26 were under technical evaluation and only one had reached the Award of Contract (AOC) stage.
The anti-corruption organisation has sought action against the officials involved, a detailed departmental inquiry and DVAC investigation into the allegations.
It has also demanded that payment of any bills connected to the two works be stopped and that contractors found to have participated in any irregularities be blacklisted.
When ABP Nadu, an online news portal contacted Tambaram Corporation Commissioner S Balachander for his response to the allegations, he said the Ashoka Pillar statue inaugurated by the corporation was constructed entirely using Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds and that the tender issued for the work had already been cancelled.
“The tender details had not been updated online as a by-election had been announced. The allegations made by Arappor Iyakkam were completely false,” he told the media.
When the media asked how a tender could have been issued nearly a month after the work had already been inaugurated, and why the tender process had been taken online if the work was funded through CSR, he said he would speak in detail about the issue before ending the call.