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The Tamil Nadu government has suspended four librarians and a chief accounts officer over alleged irregularities in the procurement of books for Periyar Arivulagam in Coimbatore. The suspended officials include senior personnel attached to the Anna Centenary Library in Chennai and the Kalaignar Centenary Library in Madurai. All five officers served on the coordination committee and the price fixation and negotiation committee overseeing the book acquisition process.
The disciplinary action by the state library department has raised questions about official oversight and procedural transparency in government book purchases. While available details do not specify the exact charges framed against individual officers or the total financial value of the alleged discrepancies, the suspensions are directly linked to irregularities reported in book procurement for the Coimbatore facility.
Senior Library and Accounts Officials Suspended
Among those placed under suspension is S. Kamakshi, who held the charge of Chief Librarian and Information Officer alongside her role as Deputy Chief Librarian at the Anna Centenary Library in Chennai. D. Dinesh Kumar, Chief Librarian and Information Officer in-charge at the Kalaignar Centenary Library in Madurai, has also been suspended.
The action further covers V. Santhanakrishnan, Librarian and Information Officer at the Kalaignar Centenary Library in Madurai, who was simultaneously holding additional charge of the Periyar Library. Santhana Karthikeyan, serving as Librarian and Information Officer at the Anna Centenary Library in Chennai, is the fourth librarian suspended. The fifth official is J. Juliet, who served as Chief Accounts Officer in the Directorate of Public Libraries.
Role of Procurement Committees Under Scrutiny
The five officials held key responsibilities in two panels formed to manage the book acquisition drive. While the coordination committee was tasked with aligning different stages of the procurement workflow, the price fixation and negotiation committee examined book pricing and purchase terms. Their suspension is widely viewed as a significant step toward fixing departmental accountability in the matter.
Periyar Arivulagam is a library and knowledge center established in Coimbatore, where recent book purchases sparked administrative and political controversy. Following allegations of procedural lapses in the procurement process, the issue drew sharp reactions across political circles in Tamil Nadu.
Political Debate and Ongoing Investigation
Earlier in connection with the same row, reports emerged that funds amounting to roughly Rs 22 lakh belonging to publisher Agal Vilakku had been frozen. Although that financial freeze formed part of the broader scrutiny into the book purchase dispute, available information does not clarify whether a direct investigative link has been established between the frozen publisher funds and the suspension of the five officials.
The controversy has also fueled political exchanges in the state, with Congress leader Manickam Tagore accusing the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) of attempting to divert attention from political issues through the book procurement row. With the matter now firmly part of public and political debate, further departmental inquiries will examine how book selection, pricing, and committee approvals were handled, though suspension itself does not establish guilt ahead of a formal investigation.
