Parallel govt is being run by IAS officers in Tamil Nadu, says Madras high court

CHENNAI: Expressing its dismay over the volte-face made by the Tamil Nadu govt, against the assurance given to the court that houses, as promised, would be allotted to selected Tamil scholars under the ‘Kanmavu Illam Scheme’, the Madras high court on Friday remarked that a parallel govt is being run by IAS officers in the state.Such decisions are taken by IAS officers who do not understand the value of such a scheme, Justice N Anand Venkatesh said while adding that the late chief minister of the state, M Karunanidhi, would not have allowed such action. The court made the observations while hearing a plea moved by lyricist R Vairamuthu challenging the allotment of a house under the scheme.

When the plea came up for hearing, senior advocate Xavier Arulraj informed the court that in an earlier case moved by Tamil Nadu’s first woman IPS officer, Thilagavathy, the advocate-general assured the court that the restriction introduced in the scheme would be given effect prospectively and this time houses would be allotted to all 10 beneficiaries selected under the scheme. However, instead of complying with the assurance given to the court, the govt filed an appeal against the case and a division bench stayed the interim order passed by this court, he added.To this, Justice Anand Venkatesh observed that such acts are done by the IAS offices and that they are running a parallel government. “Allotting houses to writers is an emotional and sensitive matter. IAS officers do not understand this — they only operate in the tone of authority.

If IAS and IPS officers are allowed to run a parallel government, it will lead to serious problems,” the judge warned and adjourned the hearing.At 2.15 pm, when the court resumed its proceedings after lunch, additional advocate general J Ravindran appeared before the court and recorded his strong exception to the observations made by the court. He asserted that the govt is run by chief minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin and not by any bureaucrats.