Rajagopal P Swamy,(Special Correspondent)
*Demand for SIT Amplifies as the Rs.100-Crore Temple Land Scam Exposes Broader Rot in Puducherry’s Information & Publicity Department.
The arrest of Suresh Rajan,the sitting Director of the Information and Publicity Department,in the sensational Rs.100-crore Kamatchi Amman Temple land grabbing case has cracked open a Pandora’s box of administrative rot,deep-seated nepotism,and unchecked misuse of official machinery.
Public outrage is rapidly transforming into a loud,unified demand for a comprehensive Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe all structural and administrative irregularities that occurred during Mr.Suresh Rajan’s long executive tenure.
Civil society organizations,trade unions,and the public are asking how such massive, multi-layered scams escaped scrutiny for so long especially given the high-profile governance framework overseeing the Union Territory.
The epicenter of the scandal involves a 64,000-square-foot vacant plot in heart of the city, Rainbow Nagar belonging entirely to the Sri Kamatchi Amman Devasthanam (Temple) via a historic 1935 Will.
In 2010,a criminal syndicate manufactured forged parent deeds and a fake will to transfer the land value amounting to Rs.100 crores in open market metrics into private ownership.
This audacious heist was made possible by critical institutional actors.Suresh Rajan,serving as the then Oulgaret Sub-Registrar, formally cleared the illegal title registrations without validating parent deeds.
Meanwhile, M.S.Ramesh,the Director of Land Survey,and D.Balaji,a Revenue and Settlement Officer,systematically bypassed standard verification protocols to fast-track illegal patta transfers,clearing the way for the land to be partitioned into housing plots.
The plot thickened significantly when the CB-CID traced property acquisitions directly to the family members of two sitting BJP MLAs:A. John Kumar (Kamaraj Nagar) and his son,Vivilian Richards John Kumar (Nellithope).
While the legislators claimed to be innocent buyers, a strict directive by the Madras High Court compelled them to surrender vacant possession back to the temple trustees.
Following this,the case was handed to the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption wing, culminating in the midnight remand of Suresh Rajan to the Kalapet Central Prison.
Whistleblowers and labor groups assert that the temple land scam is merely a symptom of a much larger, systemic crisis.
Serious complaints submitted directly to the Chief Secretary Sharat Chauhan and Secretary of Information Mohammed Abhid highlight severe institutional irregularities festering within the very department Suresh Rajan headed.
A formal petition filed on behalf of the several working union exposes a glaring example of official favoritism and systemic negligence concerning Mr.I.Ganapathy (alias Ganapathy Iyanarappan),a Public Relation Assistant within the department.
First,there are credible grounds to believe that Mr. Ganapathy secured his initial appointment as a Reporter in 2001 on the basis of an experience certificate whose authenticity is highly doubtful, as preliminary information indicates he may not have actually served in the institutions cited.
Second,despite receiving a promotion in 2007,Mr. Ganapathy has continued in the same Press Section and district for an unusually long duration without transfer, standing in clear deviation from established administrative norms requiring periodic rotation in sensitive sections.
Third,because he has been functioning in close association with higher executive offices,his deployment in sensitive,election-related media monitoring duties during the recently concluded 2026 Legislative Assembly Elections under G.O.No.1001/DEO/GEPLA-2026/512—has severely compromised official neutrality and undermined the principles of impartial governance under the Model Code of Conduct.
Finally,media-related responsibilities are traditionally vested with the competent authority, namely the Director of Information and Publicity,making the unauthorized role assumed by Mr.Ganapathy in the Media Cell highly irregular.
Despite multiple formal representations escalated by civil society groups and organizations to the competent authorities,including the Secretary and the Director of Information and Publicity,a complete lack of action has persisted.
Observers note that these compromised officials have managed to operate with total impunity due to their perceived proximity to the Chief Minister’s office, manipulating power at the direct expense and negligence of common citizens.
This escalating administrative failure raises a profound institutional question for the Union Territory’s governance:Why does the Puducherry administration continue to remain completely opaque,slow-moving,and vulnerable to political manipulation while Shri K. Kailashnathan sits at the helm as the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry?.
As a highly respected, veteran retired IAS officer of the 1979 batch, Mr.Kailashnathan is globally recognized as one of the closest and most trusted aides to Prime Minister Narendra Modi,having served for years as his Additional Chief Secretary and Chief Principal Secretary in the Gujarat Chief Minister’s Office.
Given his impeccable record for driving massive, transparent infrastructure projects and stringent governance, public consensus demands that Raj Nivas intervene directly.
The contrast is stark:while the Prime Minister advocates for absolute transparency and an iron-fisted stance against corruption,his former chief aide’s administration in Puducherry is currently rocked by a Rs.100-crore land sacrilege and deep administrative paralysis inside the Directorate of Information and Publicity.
To restore public trust and protect the rights of ordinary citizens, civil society groups are demanding nothing less than an autonomous Special Investigation Team (SIT).
This specialized body must be empowered to conduct an exhaustive, wall-to-wall audit of all registrations, tenders,and official orders passed during Suresh Rajan’s administrative tenure,while launching an immediate vigilance inquiry into the suspected fraudulent appointments,long-standing tenures, and election-cell manipulations within the Information and Publicity Department.
Ultimately,the functioning of the Media Cell during the 2026 elections must be thoroughly reviewed,Mr. Ganapathy must be relieved from all sensitive duties and transferred in the public interest,and the entire investigation must be insulated from the Chief Minister’s political circle to ensure uncompromised accountability.
The people of Puducherry are waiting to see if Raj Nivas will act swiftly to clean up the Secretariat,or if political shields will continue to protect institutional corruption.
