Chennai, Apr 21 (IANS): Anti-corruption NGO Arappor Iyakkam convener Jayaram Venkatesan on Thursday urged the Tamil Nadu government to register an first information report (FIR) and start criminal proceedings against officials of Highways Department and contractors for swindling the state.

Venkatesan has sent a complaint to the Chief Secretary V. Irai Anbu, Director, Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption, Dr. P. Umanath, Secretary II to Chief Minister and Dheeraj Kumar, Principal Secretary Highways and Minor Ports Department.

"Arappor Iyakkam has learnt that crores of money has been paid to contractors in various divisions of State Highways Department in the month of March 2022 for works which were not executed until then. This seems to have happened through collusion of officials of the State Highways Department and select set of contractors," Venkatesan's letter notes.

"We request you to immediately register a FIR under Prevention of Corruption Act and do a thorough investigation," he said.

Listing out instances of alleged payment to the contractors who did not execute the work, Venkatesan said efforts are being made to protect the contractors and allow them to carry out the work with police protection and erase the evidence of corruption.

"Therefore, without any further delay, it is important that all relevant records of works for which payments were made in the month of March 2022 in State Highways Department in all divisions are confiscated immediately and any further work for the payments already made are stopped immediately," Venkatesan said.