Chennai: Alleging that contractors executing highways projects in Tamil Nadu were previously forced to pay nearly 25% of project costs in commissions, highways minister Aadhav Arjuna assured contractors on Friday that no bribes would be sought under the present govt and that all tenders would be awarded transparently.At a meeting with them, Arjuna said contractors paid around 11% as “CM fund”, 8% as “minister fund” and another 8% to officials. “You gave this money even before you took tenders. Then you had to recover this 25% and still make a profit of at least 10%,” he said, adding that there would be no “CM fund, party fund or minister fund” hereafter.“I assure you that no commission will be sought by ministers, party functionaries or their associates. In return, I want you to focus on project quality and ensure deadlines are met,” he said. He added that all tenders would be published transparently on the Tamil Nadu Tenders website and that no contractor would receive preferential treatment.“I don’t know any of you. But we are auditing whatever has happened in the last few months. We will identify those who did wrong and hold them accountable,” he said.Warning contractors against compromising on quality, Arjuna said strict action would be taken against violators. “ We need quality works similar to those executed by L&T and Tata. If old practices continue, we will take action,” he said.The minister said he understood the financial stress contractor faced. “Govt payments are sometimes released only after six months. When interest burdens run into crores, quality gets compromised,” he said, adding that payments would be released faster.He also announced plans for a dedicated raw materials procurement wing within the highways department to source gravel, sand and other materials, eliminating brokers and reducing project delays. “ Our new raw material procurement wing will take care of giving you the material at standard costs. Many national highway projects are stuck due to raw material procurement issues and local strongmen blocking resources. We have assured the Union minister that we will eliminate these issues so that we can secure more NH projects as well,” he said.The minister said the Union govt was willing to invest up to ₹2 lakh crore in Tamil Nadu’s road infrastructure over the next five years. “We have no fund constraints. We will create up to 1,500 km of six-lane roads besides more national highways (NH), national expressways (NE) and access-controlled high-speed corridors,” he said.
