TN bureaucrats under scanner in tender scam involving minister KN Nehru

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) recently uncovered what it called a ₹1,020 crore tender manipulation racket in the state's Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department, headed by Minister KN Nehru. What began as a probe into job irregularities ballooned into a full-blown corruption scandal, with allegations of pre-fixed contracts, hefty kickbacks, and hawala routes funneling illicit funds to Dubai and beyond potentially channeling proceeds into party coffers.

Sources within the ED, speaking exclusively to The Federal, said a detailed 258-page dossier dispatched to Tamil Nadu's Chief Secretary, the Director General of Police, and the state Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) implicates not just politicians and their inner circles, but a cadre of high-ranking bureaucrats.

IAS, IPS officers involved?

"The names of a few key IAS and IPS officers serving in the state government have surfaced in our investigations," a senior ED official revealed, declining to disclose identities to avoid compromising ongoing probes. "We thought this was confined to politicians and their cronies, but the involvement of senior civil servants has been a rude shock."

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The scam, described by investigators as a "well-oiled machine," allegedly spans multiple municipal projects, including construction works, public toilet builds, outsourcing services for sanitation workers, NABARD-funded schemes, worker housing initiatives, and water body renovations.

Tenders were purportedly rigged from the outset, with favoured contractors handpicked to guarantee commissions ranging from 7% to 10%, often a fixed 7.5% on every deal. Evidence seized during recent ED raids in Trichy, Coimbatore, and Chennai allegedly paints a damning picture, over 300 photographs showing KN Nehru apparently rubbing shoulders with alleged network players, WhatsApp conversations directing tender awards, and documents outlining bribe collections.

Hawala slips, bank statements, and international remittance records supposedly trace the money trail to overseas destinations, including Dubai, raising allegations of money laundering on an industrial scale.

Role of bureacrats

The plot thickens with bureaucrats' alleged complicity. Documents and digital trails supposedly show IAS and IPS officers not only recommending specific contractors but also facilitating the collection and routing of kickback amounts. "This is a direct violation of the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968," the ED source emphasised. "These officers were instrumental in steering tenders and siphoning funds—it's betrayal at the highest levels."

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This isn't Nehru's first brush with ED scrutiny. On October 27, the agency alleged an ₹888 crore job scam linked to his brother KN Ravichandran's firm, True Value Homes Pvt Ltd, involving 2,538 irregular hires at ₹35 lakh apiece. The current tender fraud builds on that, with seized spreadsheets allegedly bearing a column labelled "Party Fund," hinting at diversions to the ruling DMK's coffers.

What next?

Opposition heavyweights from the BJP and AIADMK are demanding Nehru's resignation and a CBI takeover, branding the episode a "DMK family enterprise" under Chief Minister MK Stalin's watch.

The ball is now firmly in the state government's court. The DVAC has acknowledged receipt of the ED's evidence and vowed to review it per protocol, but registering an FIR against a cabinet minister requires approval under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, a hurdle given Nehru's proximity to Stalin.

The senior ED official was candid: "Will cases be filed against these officers individually, or will an inquiry suffice? We're leaving that to the Tamil Nadu government's discretion."