The Beast suit looks the part; now be the beast, chief minister

The Beast suit looks the part; now be the beast, chief minister 

STORYBOARD ARUN RAM 18.05.2026

Chief minister C Joseph Vijay has kept the black ‘Beast’ suit on. And the sartorial symbolism matters: he is different. Yet symbolism can only open the door; governance must walk through it. Tamil Nadu today is not merely watching what Vijay does; it is watching whom he chooses to do it with. A full cabinet is yet to take shape, and political pressure is mounting. 

The trickiest pressure comes from the AIADMK faction led by C Ve Shanmugam and S P Velumani, reportedly seeking at least half a dozen ministerial berths. For Vijay, this is more than coalition arithmetic. It threatens to strike at the heart of his political brand. He did not arrive in office as a veteran administrator promising incremental change. He came as an outsider with a language of renewal. His campaign rested heavily on two intertwined promises: clean governance and a break from cynical politics.

 People voted not just for a new govt but for a different political culture. That promise risks early dilution if cabinet formation begins by yielding to pressure groups with tainted faces. Vijay must ask himself a difficult yet necessary question: can a govt elected on the promise of clean governance afford even the appearance of compromise at birth? The answer may determine whether his tenure acquires moral authority or merely administrative power. 

The larger challenge is corruption itself. Anti-corruption politics in India often collapses into spectacle — raids, headlines, accusations against rivals and dramatic speeches. Citizens encounter corruption not in headlines but in queues — at the village office, municipal counter, taluk office, registration department and police station. They meet it while seeking a birth certificate, a land patta, a building approval, an electricity connection or a welfare benefit. This is where Vijay’s anti-corruption mission must begin. 

The govt should launch a cleanup mission beginning at the lowest administrative level. Every govt service application should be digitised and trackable. Citizens must know where a file sits, why it is delayed and whom to approach if timelines are breached. Govt offices must display mandatory service timelines and grievance escalation systems. Anonymous public feedback should be encouraged. Officers repeatedly facing complaints should face departmental scrutiny. Corruption survives not because rules are absent but because consequences are rare. 

Reform cannot stop at the clerk’s desk. Tamil Nadu’s deeper corruption challenge lies at the other end of the pyramid — in procurement and contracts. Kickbacks for infrastructure projects and civic contracts have become so institutionalised that whispers of protest among contractors are often about the hike in percentage. Citizens may not know the technical details of tenders, but they instinctively understand when contracts appear opaque or politically favoured. And, when the blacktop of a newly laid road peels off, it exposes the gravel of graft. 

Every govt contract should be placed in the public domain with tender details, competing bids and award rationale accessible online. Independent procurement oversight, periodic third-party audits and transparent disclosure of project costs and timelines can restore public trust. A chief minister serious about fighting corruption should insist that sunlight, not secrecy, governs public spending. This may discomfort many people in the system who nurse the dream of continuing with their corrupt ways once the new govt gets over its celebratory phase. 

That’s when Vijay should remind them what he said after taking the oath on May 10: “Erase that thought right this minute.” Dismantling corruption requires more than personal honesty at the top; it demands institutional redesign. Vijay begins office with advantages most leaders envy — enormous goodwill, emotional connection with supporters and the political capital of novelty. But novelty fades quickly in politics. Govts are remembered not for the excitement of arrival but for the discipline of decision-making. Like the chief minister’s attire, governance should be in black and white. - 

arun.ram@timesofindia.com 

POKER FACE DMK will never understand reality – C JOSEPH VIJAY , TAMIL NADU CHIEF MINISTER You will. Soon 

18/05/2026, 06:21 Times of India ePaper chennai - Read Today’s English News Paper Online https://epaper.indiatimes.com/timesepaper/publication-the-times-of-india,city-chennai.cms 2/3 18/05/2026, 06:21 Times of India ePaper chennai - Read Today’s English News Paper Online

People in containment zones may have to pay six months’ power bill at one go

People in containment zones may have to pay six months’ power bill at one go

Sivakumar.B@timesgroup.com

Chennai:16.06.2020

As citizens struggle to stave off the virus threat, they may have to get ready for another shock from the state power utility, Tangedco, which has decided to postpone assessment of power bills to August in containment areas across the state.

The decision may jack up power bills of consumers, and a household that pays ₹2,000 once every two months may end up paying ₹10,000 to ₹12,000 for six months, without any significant increase in consumption.

Tangedco’s financial wing has instructed superintending engineers (a copy of the circular is with TOI) not to send assessors to containment areas to take EB meter reading and had asked consumers to make payments in June as per their last bill (April bill) and reading will be taken only in August.

Though the state government has asked consumers to pay their bill as per their last meter reading, the power utility has decided to consider these interim payments only as advances against their final bill which will be calculated on a later date.

In TN, power tariff on domestic or household consumers is dynamic and not fixed. It keeps changing depending on the units consumed. For example, while power consumed up to 200 units is charged at ₹2.50 per unit, it is ₹3 per unit between 200 and 500 units when the total bimonthly bill is up to 500 units.

When the total bimonthly consumption goes beyond 500 units, the tariff would be ₹4.60 per unit from 200 to 500 units and ₹6.60 per unit for consumption above 500 units.

This variable component will push a normal consumer who may be in the ₹2.50-perunit bucket under bimonthly billing to the top slot of Rs.6.60 per unit if his consumption is clubbed and calculated for three bimonthly periods in August. This will increase the payment burden of consumers manifold, depending on how early or late the final billing will be done by Tangedco.

According to M Annamalai, a resident of Anna Nagar whose normal bimonthly payment is ₹3,410, “Our consumption since February would be 3,400 units if the reading is taken now and we may have to pay ₹15,000. But if another two months’ consumption gets added to the bill, our final bill will be more than ₹23,000 even if we make an interim payment as per our last bill. I am a private sector employee. It will be difficult for me to pay such huge amount il at one go in August,” Annamalai said.

“Tangedco must allow self-assessment by consumers and they must be allowed to pay as per meter reading taken by them. The reading can be shared with local assistant engineer who can then raise the bills,” he said.

But Tangedco officials defended the discom’s decision. “Regulation 10 of TNE supply code deals with rules to be followed when meters are not accessible for calculating consumption. The Covid-19 outbreak has created an extraordinary situation, and there is no specific relief allowed in the code for containment zones,” they said.

But official promised to take up the issue with senior officials to save consumers in containment zones from ending up paying six months bill together.

Tangedco’s financial wing has instructed superintending engineers not to send assessors to containment areas to take EB meter reading

Deadline to pay power bill extended in four districts

Deadline to pay power bill extended in four districts

Tangedco asks its staff to begin door-to-door billing

04/06/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) has extended the last date for paying electricity bill for domestic consumers to July 5.

As the State government had extended the lockdown till June 30, domestic consumers in Chennai city and neighbouring districts of Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu can pay their electricity bills without penalty till July 5.

For the other parts of the State, the last date for paying electricity charges without penalty is June 15. Tangedco has fixed June 15 as the last date for high tension consumers who have not paid the electricity charges for March, April and May.

Tangedco has begun assessment of electricity meters in the city.

The meter reading was stopped because of lockdown from March 25.

Meter reading

Now, despite the increase in the number of cases of COVID-19, Tangedco has asked all its revenue officials to take up meter assessment.

A senior official said except in containment zones, assessors have begun reading domestic meters in all parts of the city and three nearby districts, including Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu from June 1.

Assessment for low-tension commercial connections, which are billed every month, was started in May first week, he added.

Tangedco had advised domestic consumers to pay previous month bill amount for April and May cycles. It had issued a circular for calculating the electricity bill for June and July cycles.

As per the formula, the average of the total units consumed for the two bi-monthly cycles of April and June would be arrived at and billed as per the slab system.

Based on that, the amount paid for the April month (as per the previous bill) would be deducted and the balance would have to be paid, the officials said.