Tamil Nadu BJP Chief Annamalai has now targeted both the ruling DMK and the Tamil Nadu Congress for defrauding gullible sanitation workers under the guise of making them entrepreneurs by securing bank loans. He has alleged that Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) President Selvaperunthagai is involved in a scam linked to the sanitation workers’ entrepreneurship scheme in Tamil Nadu. Annamalai expressed suspicion about the complicity of the ruling DMK in the alleged scam.
The Central government has initiated several projects to enhance the living standards of sanitation workers, the Stalin-led Dravidian Model government introduced a similar scheme in the state. As part of the initiative, arrangements were made last year to provide modern sewage vehicles to sanitation workers, enabling them to become entrepreneurs. However, Annamalai alleged that the TNCC president collected papers and documents from the workers, but the contract was awarded to his relative — a benami — to make money without investing a single paise.
தூய்மைப் பணியாளர்களைத் தொழில் முனைவோர் ஆக்குகிறோம் என்ற பெயரில், ஒரு மாபெரும் ஊழலை அரங்கேற்றியிருக்கிறார் தமிழக காங்கிரஸ் கட்சியின் தலைவர் திரு. செல்வப் பெருந்தகை. இதற்கு திமுக அரசும் உடந்தையா என்ற கேள்வி எழுந்திருக்கிறது.
தூய்மைப் பணியாளர்களைத் தொழில்முனைவோர்களாக மாற்றுவதாக… pic.twitter.com/JDtewTPq6n
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) March 28, 2025
Annamalai and YouTuber Savukku Shankar have taken up this matter seriously and questioned the authorities’ actions. They sought clarification on the alleged irregularities. Annamalai accused Selvaperunthagai, whom he described as a history-sheeter, of orchestrating a large-scale scam under the pretext of transforming sanitation workers into entrepreneurs. Annamalai, Savukku Shankar, and AIADMK leaders have begun questioning whether the DMK government was part of the scam, asserting that without its complicity, nothing would have moved. Critics suggest it is a strategic move to implicate him in a scam, weakening the Congress’s bargaining power and ensuring he does not challenge either Stalin or his son Udhayanidhi in future scams.
The scheme was launched with the objective of empowering sanitation workers by turning them into entrepreneurs, awarding contracts worth Rs 524 crore over a period of seven years through the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) and the Department of Municipal Administration.
புதிய வங்கிக் கணக்கு தொடங்கி, செக் புத்தகம் வழங்கிய அதே தினத்தில், கணக்கில் 65 லட்ச ரூபாய் வரவு வைத்து, பின்னர் இரண்டு செக்குகளில் கையொப்பம் வாங்கிவிட்டு பயனாளிகள் அனுப்பி வைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளனர். கடன் வழங்கி 7 மாதங்கள் ஆகிவிட்டன. இதுவரை, கடன் தொகையில், ஒரு ரூபாய் கூடத் திருப்பிச்… pic.twitter.com/GOdMg8mJer
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) March 28, 2025
Under the scheme, initially, 54 beneficiaries secured loans from the Kanchipuram Central Cooperative Bank (KCCB) and 33 from the Chennai Central Cooperative Bank (CCCB) to purchase modern sewage collection vehicles.
Beneficiaries who received loans from KCCB
Annamalai and Savukku Shankar released documents to substantiate their charges. Upon reviewing these documents, it was found that between 12 August 2024 and 19 August 2024, the KCCB disbursed loans of Rs 65 lakh each to 54 individuals within just a week. Shockingly, on the very day their bank accounts were opened and cheque books issued, Rs 65 lakh was deposited into each account, and the beneficiaries were made to sign two cheques before being sent away.
கடந்த 2023 ஆம் ஆண்டு, ஜூன் 7 அன்று, சென்னையைத் தலைமையிடமாகக் கொண்டு தொடங்கப்பட்ட Gengreen Logistics & Management Pvt. Ltd என்ற நிறுவனத்துக்கும், வங்கிக் கடன் பெற்ற பயனாளிகளுக்கும் இடையே, கடந்த 2023ஆம் ஆண்டே ஒப்பந்தம் கையெழுத்தாகியுள்ளது. இந்த ஒப்பந்தத்தின்படி, தமிழக அரசோடு,… pic.twitter.com/yASSMkVGW8
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) March 28, 2025
It is noteworthy that even after seven months since the loan disbursement, no repayments have been made. There have been no financial transactions in these accounts since the disbursal of the loans. This raises critical questions: On what basis did the cooperative banks approve Rs 65 lakh loans for multiple individuals without any collateral? Why have the loans not been repaid? Who is the real beneficiary? Are the recipients benamis for someone else?
Annamalai and others pointed out that had these loans been sanctioned under the Central Government’s NSFDC or NAMASTE schemes, a thorough verification process would have been carried out to ensure that the recipients were genuine beneficiaries. It appears that cooperative banks were strategically used to bypass these checks. Loans were disbursed without verification and collateral. This raises doubts — are the supposed beneficiaries truly sanitation workers?
What is even more intriguing is the agreement signed in 2023 between Chennai-based Gengreen Logistics & Management Pvt Ltd and the loan recipients, dated June 7, 2023.
According to this agreement, instead of sanitation workers directly managing the Rs 524 crore sewage disposal contracts under the Tamil Nadu government, Gengreen Logistics took over the operations. One of the company’s directors, Veeramani Radhakrishnan, is the nephew of Selvaperunthagai. The company’s registered office address is the same as that of Selvaperunthagai, which raises serious concerns about a conflict of interest.
Savukku Shankar, in a tweet on X, quoted Annamalai regarding an agreement between a beneficiary and the Executive Officer of Thirumazhisai for the use of the beneficiary’s vehicle. The scheme is not limited to Chennai but extends across the entire state. According to the agreement, the beneficiary’s vehicle would be in use for seven years, i.e. until December 26, 2030. Clause four is significant — it states that to maintain the vehicles, a separate entity (Group Management Company) would be registered. The beneficiary must sign an agreement with this company and submit the required documents within 25 days to the Thirumazhisai Panchayat. One may ask: Can’t the beneficiary own and maintain the vehicle independently while also continuing their sanitation work?
திரு அண்ணாமலை வெளியிட்ட மற்றொரு ஆவணம், சுத்திகரிப்பு வாகனம் பெற்ற பயனாளி மற்றும் திருமழிசை பஞ்சாயத்தின் செயல் அலுவலர் ஆகியோரிடையே, பயனாளியின் சுத்திகரிப்பு வாகனத்தை பயன்படுத்துவதற்காக போடப்பட்ட ஒப்பந்தம்.
நாம் அனைவரும், இது சென்னை பெருநகர குடிநீர் வழங்கல் மற்றும் கழிவுநீர்… pic.twitter.com/wzUDAHnAJ8
— Savukku Shankar (@SavukkuOfficial) March 28, 2025
In another post, quoting Annamalai’s documents, Savukku Shankar wrote: “The cost of the vehicle is Rs 61.84 lakh. To become an entrepreneur, an initial investment of Rs 4 lakh is required. In total, it amounts to Rs 65.84 lakh. From this, after deducting the government subsidy of Rs 25.47 lakh (note: the Central government provides a 50% subsidy), the bank should only provide a loan of Rs 40.37 lakh.” However, those recommended by Selvaperunthagai, without investing even ten paise, received vehicles worth Rs 61.84 lakh and Rs 4 lakh as initial investment support. According to the project report, “The beneficiaries are entitled to receive Rs 87,500 monthly to cover fuel costs and salaries per vehicle.” It further states that the minimum income, as per the CMWSSB work contract, will be Rs 2.28 lakh, and their net profit will be Rs 1.37 lakh. The moot question remains — does this net profit go to the beneficiary or to Selvaperunthagai’s benamis?
திரு அண்ணாமலை வெளியிட்ட ஆவணங்களின்படி, துப்புறவு தொழிலாளி பெறும் ஒரு வாகனத்தின் விலை = 61.84 லட்ச ரூபாய்
வாகனத்தை வைத்து தொழில் தொடங்க மூலதனம் = 4 லட்சம்
தேவைப்படும் மொத்த தொகை = 65. 84 லட்சம்
இந்த 65.84 லட்சத்தில் தமிழ்நாடு அரசு தரும் மானியம் = 25.47 லட்சம்
வங்கி அளிக்கும்… pic.twitter.com/13HIRmU1AO
— Savukku Shankar (@SavukkuOfficial) March 28, 2025
The ruling DMK remains silent on the issue. Meanwhile, a section within the Congress party is raising a banner of revolt against Selvaperunthagai, demanding his removal from the post. They cite his alleged involvement in the murder of Auditor Pandian and his ownership of a hotel in England along with other assets in Tamil Nadu.
