Times of India: Chennai: Friday, June 28, 2013.
Chennai
Corporation on Thursday asked seven zonal officers to submit tender documents,
estimates and measurements relating to the group bin project to look into the
amount spent on building them.
The move
comes a day after it was established that the contracts for the enclosures were
drawn up by zonal officers. On Wednesday, TOI reported that some zones had
spent up to 1.2 lakh on an enclosure that should cost between 45,000 and 55,000
depending on the size and location.
The
corporation is also studying the RTI reply provided by the Madhavaram zone to
TOI on group bins, saying that the project was not implemented in the zone.
A senior
elected representative of the corporation said the assistant commissioners of
all 15 zones, who received the RTI applications from TOI requesting details of
money spent on group bins, were asked to submit copies of their replies.
"We have asked for copies of the replies and explanations from officers
who have not replied," he said. Only five of the 15 zones replied to the
RTI applications.
The top brass
said there was no corruption. "Costs cannot be compared across zones. We
are asking the officers to provide details only to be assured that the money
was spent in a transparent manner," said a source close to mayor Saidai
Duraisamy.
The
corporation insists that the RTI reply received by TOI from the Madhavaram
zone, which spent 1.25 lakh per enclosure, is inaccurate. "Group bins were
introduced only in the older corporation limits," said a senior official.
"Madhavaram (zone II) needed more workers and bins. We did not introduce
the project there."
Senior
officials and residents are questioning the decision to introduce the
enclosures as no pilot project was done before implementing this initiative.
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