TN: YouTuber Savukku Shankar seeks CBI probe into 'irregularities' in sanitation schemes

Chennai, May 13 (IANS) YouTuber and activist 'Savukku' Shankar, alias A. Shankar, has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) before the Madras High Court, seeking a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in the implementation of entrepreneurship schemes meant to support manual scavengers in Tamil Nadu.

The PIL is scheduled to be heard on Wednesday by a vacation bench of Justices G. R. Swaminathan and V. Lakshminarayanan.

Shankar has requested that the court direct the CBI to register a First Information Report (FIR) based on his complaint filed on March 27.

In his affidavit, the petitioner said the Centre launched the National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) and the Tamil Nadu government rolled out the Annal Ambedkar Business Champions Scheme (AABCS) in 2023 to eliminate manual scavenging by supporting mechanised sanitation through subsidised loans.

As per AABCS guidelines, the scheme should have been implemented by the State's Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Department through the Industries Commissioner and Director of Industries and Commerce (ICDIC).

However, Shankar alleged that the responsibility was illegally handed over to the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI), a private entity, resulting in the misuse of public funds.

He further claimed that the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K. Selvaperunthagai played a key role in the scheme's mismanagement and that many of the beneficiaries were members of the Congress party's SC/ST wing, and did not fall under the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category, making them ineligible for the scheme.

Shankar said that he had already lodged a complaint with the CBI and urged the court to order an independent probe into the alleged irregularities under NAMASTE and AABCS.

He also alleged that his home was vandalised after he "exposed" the issue on his YouTube channel, with unidentified persons dressed as sanitary workers dumping sewage mixed with human waste at his residence while his elderly mother was alone.

--IANS

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