Chennai civic body flags suspected bank document fraud in park maintenance payments, police inquiry sought

Chennai, Dec 21 In a major development that has raised concerns over accountability in civic works, Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) Commissioner J. Kumaragurubaran has written to the Chennai City Police seeking a formal investigation into an alleged fraud involving private contractors entrusted with the maintenance of parks in three city zones, officials said on Sunday.

The contractors are suspected of fabricating bank documents to claim payments from the civic body while failing to disburse wages to park workers.

According to senior officials, GCC received bank transaction statements from contractors showing that salaries had been credited to workers engaged in maintaining parks in Manali, Perungudi, and Sholinganallur zones.

However, several workers whose names appeared in these documents reported that they had not received any payment in their accounts for several months.

Initial verification by the Corporation has indicated that the bank entries may have been tampered with to falsely portray legitimate salary payments.

The issue came to light after Councillors representing various wards raised repeated complaints that park workers -- mostly from economically and socially deprived communities -- had not been paid salaries for up to three months.

They also pointed to the deteriorating state of park maintenance, particularly in terms of cleanliness and upkeep, owing to the absence of regular wages affecting worker morale and attendance.

Earlier this year, GCC floated tenders and awarded contracts in packages for the operation and maintenance of 781 parks across the Corporation's 15 zones.

As part of its attempt to enforce transparency, the Corporation made it mandatory for contractors to submit bank proof showing timely salary payments to workers before bills were cleared.

However, a recent report submitted by the project management consultant to the Parks Department found that at least one contractor had allegedly provided forged bank documents for August, September, and October to show payment of wages.

As per tender norms, park workers are entitled to Rs 19,994 per month, supervisors receive Rs 22,460, and electricians/pump operators earn Rs 29,943.

Citizen groups have also expressed concern.

T.K. Shanmugham, President of the Federation of North Chennai Residents Welfare Association, said residents in many localities had complained about poorly maintained parks and weak conservancy operations.

"We want strict monitoring and better security arrangements in the early morning hours," he added.

GCC officials said that they are assessing the scale of the suspected fraud and the number of workers affected.

The Corporation has assured that stringent action will be taken against violators, including blacklisting of contractors and recovery of payments, following the outcome of the police inquiry.

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