Latest news with #S.P.Velumani
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
₹98.25-crore Corporation contract irregularities during S.P. Velumani's tenure: Madras HC questions special court over delay in taking chargesheets on file
The Madras High Court has called for a report from a Special Court in Chennai with respect to the delay in taking on file the chargsheets filed with respect to alleged irregularities in the award of contracts by Greater Chennai and Coimbatore Municipal Corporations when S.P. Velumani of the AIADMK served as Municipal Administration Minister between 2014 and 2018. Justice N. Anand Venkatesh directed the Special Court for Prevention of Corruption Act cases to submit the report by August 22, 2025. He also directed S. Vimala, serving as the Superintendent of Police in the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), to file an affidavit explaining the substantial delay in obtaining sanction to prosecute the public servants listed as accused in the case. The directions were issued on a second contempt of court petition filed by anti-corruption organisation Arappor Iyakkam, represented by its managing trustee Jayaram Venkatesan, against the Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. The present contempt plea had been filed for non-compliance of an order passed by the court on April 5, 2024, in the first contempt of court petition filed against her predecessor. Explaining the history of the case, the petitioner's counsel V. Suresh and D. Nagasaila said, his client had lodged a complaint with the DVAC way back in 2018 regarding illegal award of corporation contracts to those who shared close ties with the then Minister, thereby resulting in the unjust enrichment of public officials and diversion of the money earned into select companies and firms. When there was no response, Arappor Iyakkam filed a public interest litigation petition seeking a direction to register a First Information Report and constitute a special investigation team. The High Court on July 19, 2021, ordered that 'the State should spare no effort in getting to the bottom of the matter and proceed against those found to be responsible for the irregularities.' Subsequently, a FIR was registered against Mr. Velmunani and 16 others on August 9, 2021. However, another Division Bench of the High Court on November 30, 2022, quashed the FIR with respect to Mr. Velumani alone, for want of prima facie materials, but granted liberty to the DVAC to include his name too in the chargesheet if it was able to gather any fresh materials during the course of investigation. In 2023, six private firms approached the High Court to quash the FIR with respect to them too. On August 2, 2023, Justice Venkatesh refused to quash the FIR and asked the companies to wait and see whether their names figure in the final report (chargesheet). He also directed the DVAC to complete the investigation and file the final report within six weeks after obtaining sanction to prosecute the public servants. It was complaining about disobedience of this order, Arappor Iyakkam had filed its first contempt plea in 2024 against the then DVAC SP A. Myilvaganan. Justice Venkatesh closed the plea on April 5, 2024, after recording the submission of DVAC that it had filed two chargesheets before the special court on March 1, 2024. Then, he directed the special court to act upon those chargesheets within two weeks. Alleging disobedience of this order, the complainant had filed the present contempt plea against incumbent SP Ms. Vimala who told Justice Venkatesh that the chargesheets were returned by the special court on multiple occassions for rectification of defects. She said, almost all the defects pointed out by the court were rectified and the chargesheets were finally resubmitted before the court on July 12, 2025. Ms. Vimala said, the case was related to a loss of ₹98.25 crore caused to the Greater Chennai and Coimbatore Municipal Corporations. Hence, the DVAC had filed the first chargesheet against 58 accused persons along with over one lakh pages of tender related documents. The second chargesheet was filed against 40 accused persons along with over 50,000 pages of tender related documents. The special court returned the chargesheets on August 16, 2024 with an observation that several documents were not filled in OCR format, had dull impressions and were in a torn condition. The DVAC rectified the defects and resubmitted the chargesheets on November 11, 2024. However, the special court returned them again on February 14, 2025 for submission of additional supporting materials. The special court insisted on submitting the Government Orders related to the appointing authority of the public servants who had been listed as the accused, the age proof of the accused, their photographs, e-mail IDs, contact numbers, and so on. The chargesheets were finally resubmitted on July 12, 2025, along with all documents, except the GO, as sought by the special court, Ms. Vimala said. Stating she had no deliberate intention to disobey court orders, the SP urged the court purge her from the contempt proceedings. However, Justice Venkatesh directed her to explain the long delay in obtaining sanction to prosecute the public servants and also called for a report from the special court for not having taken the chargesheets on file within two weeks as ordered by the High Court on April 5, 2024.
The Hindu
08-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Palaniswami undertakes hour-long morning stroll interspersed with tetea-tete with co-walkers at Race Course
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami interacted informally with the general public seeking to present himself as an amiable politician while on his morning walk on Tuesday (July 8, 2025) morning at the famed Race Course track in Coimbatore City. Having stayed put at Taj Vivanta Hotel for Monday (July 7, 2025) night after completing his first day of State-wide election campaign in the rural parts and outskirts, the former Chief Minister was seen highlighting the projects undertaken for the growth of Coimbatore during the decade-long AIADMK tenure from 2011 to 2021. Accompanied by former Minister and Coimbatore strongman S.P. Velumani, the former Chief Minister promised further projects to rejuvenate the industrial climate in Coimbatore and the Western region to the listeners. The Z Plus tight security notwithstanding, Mr. Palaniswamy approached co-walkers and exchanged pleasantries before engaging them in durations spanning few minutes at each of the many points. Mr. Palaniswami returned to the hotel located bang along the Race Course Road after about an hour. He is set to begin the second day of the election campaign at Vadavalli, Sai Baba Colony and other thickly-populated locations in the city in the evening hours.
The Hindu
21-06-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Students, police and armed forces mark Yoga Day in Coimbatore
International Yoga Day saw large-scale participation in Coimbatore on Friday, with events held across educational institutions and public venues. At the Isha Yoga Centre, over 200 personnel from the Rapid Action Force in Vellalore and the 35th and 43rd regiments from Madukkarai and Sulur took part in yoga training. The event was part of more than 2,500 free sessions conducted by Isha Foundation across the country, reaching over 10,000 security personnel and members of the public. At the Police Recruits School campus in the city, more than 100 police personnel participated in a 40-minute yoga session led by City Police Commissioner A. Saravana Sundar, organised by the Coimbatore City Police. Educational institutions also observed the day. At Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, students demonstrated yoga postures and performed a themed dance. At Nirmala College for Women, 1,000 incoming students attended a session led by a certified trainer, while T.V. Sekharan Memorial School hosted yoga practitioners who guided students through daily practices. Former Minister S.P. Velumani joined students at Brindavan Vidyalaya in Madukkarai for a yoga session and spoke about its role in improving mental calm and physical health. VLB Janakiammal College of Arts and Science collaborated with Government Boys Higher Secondary School, Thondamuthur, for a joint programme. S. Nirmala Devi, SKY Professor from The World Community Service Center, led a session encouraging students to take up yoga as a daily routine.
The Hindu
26-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
S.P. Velumani demands rollback of Coimbatore Corporation's drinking water and UGD tariff hike
AIADMK MLA S.P. Velumani, along with five other party legislators, petitioned District Collector Pavankumar G. Giriyappanavar on Monday, demanding the withdrawal of a Coimbatore Corporation council resolution that increased deposit and monthly charges for underground drainage (UGD) and drinking water supply. The MLAs said the revised charges would add to the financial burden on the public, alongside increase in property tax and other tariffs. They urged the district administration to intervene and rollback the decision. The petition also raised concerns over civic infrastructure. It stated that around 700 km of roads had been damaged due to UGD and 24/7 water supply projects and that the Corporation had not carried out proper restoration. The MLAs said damaged roads had become hazardous during rains. They also pointed to the poor maintenance of Smart City lakes, claiming water hyacinth and vegetation had taken over many waterbodies and walkways. The administration was urged to expedite pending works such as the Western Bypass and the SIHS Colony bridge. Speaking to reporters, Mr. Velumani said recent gale and rains had caused crop damage in the district, but adequate relief had not been provided. He reiterated long-standing issues, including the unresolved odour problem at the Vellalore dump yard and delays in the allocation of buses to city outskirts. He also questioned the irregular supply of drinking water. 'Coimbatore has a population of over 22 lakh and requires only around 290 MLD water if supplied at 135 LPCD per person. But, despite receiving about 320 MLD water from various schemes, water is being supplied only once in four or five days. The administration must consult TWAD Board and Corporation officials to ensure regular distribution,' he said. On the Pilloor III drinking water project, he said many of the planned elevated tanks were still incomplete and called upon the district administration to ensure speedy completion.
