Chennai: The Madras High Court on Friday ordered the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to file within four weeks a status report on the probe into alleged irregularities in the purchase of bitumen for road laying and maintenance works in Tamil Nadu.
A division bench comprising justices M M Sundaresh and M Sundar gave the direction on a public interest litigation seeking a CBI probe after the state government informed that already the DVAC had been ordered to investigate the matter based on a representation by the petitioner.
In his PIL, G Balaji, an RTI activist, alleged that state highways department officials in collusion with contractors had "cashed out" Rs 800 crore to 1,000 crore during 2014-16 in the procurement of bitumen by taking advantage of variations in its price.
The petitioner charged that bitumen, a major road construction constituent, had become a primary source for the officials to siphon off public funds and sought a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities.
Earlier, when the matter came up for hearing, the petitioner's counsel submitted that bitumen prices fluctuate on a monthly basis as fixed by the oil marketing companies.
He claimed that the department had to bear additional cost of bitumen if the price goes up above the amount sanctioned.
Similarly, if the price falls, the difference should be recovered from the contractors.
However, the counsel alleged, the officials collude with the contractors and divert the difference amount to their pockets.