TN appoints special officer to expedite work at Jaya memorial

The Tamil Nadu government has appointed a special officer (SO) to expedite work at the memorial being built for former chief minister J Jayalalithaa on the Marina Beach.

The state government plans to inaugurate the memorial on February 24, the birth anniversary of Jayalalithaa.

The memorial, which is being built at a cost of Rs 57.96 crore, is coming up behind the MGR memorial, and the project is undertaken by the Tamil Nadu government. Jayalalithaa was buried next to her mentor M G Ramachandran on December 6, 2016, according to Dravidian customs.

R Pandiarajan, who retired as a superintending engineer, Public Works Department, in April 2020, has been appointed as the special officer on a contract basis to “monitor and coordinate the works in order to complete the project in a stipulated time,” an order signed by K Manivasan, Principal Secretary (PWD), read.

He is being hired for a period of three months, the order added.

The move assumes significance in the wake of reports that Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami is keen on inaugurating the memorial in February, months before the state Assembly faces its most crucial polls in recent times.

Sources in the government told DH that the need for the appointment of a special officer arose due to delay in completing the project. “There were delays due to a variety of factors and we want the project to be completed soon. Covid-19 lockdown also delayed the project considerably,” a senior government official said.

The memorial will also have a museum and a knowledge park, while the project also includes sprucing up of MGR memorial.