Chennai: Official visits by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay have come under fire from the Opposition over allegations of excessive and improper use of public funds on security, travel and other arrangements. The latest attack came on Sunday from AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS), who called Vijay a “costly CM”, claiming that security and travel arrangements for his visit to open the Mettur Dam gates cost more than Rs 5 crore.
State BJP and DMK leaders have also alleged that substantial public money was spent on the programme.
Vijay formally released water from the Mettur Dam on 1 September for irrigation and drinking water needs in the Cauvery delta districts, ahead of the Samba cultivation season. The release, traditionally made around 12 June for the Kuruvai season, was delayed this year because of inadequate inflows from Karnataka and low reservoir storage. At the time, the dam held around 54 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) against its full capacity of about 93-95 TMC.
Vijay arrived in Salem by special flight from Chennai and travelled by road to Mettur amid a roadshow and public reception. He pressed a button to open the gates in the presence of ministers and officials, showered flowers and grains on the released water, interacted with farmers and visited a photo exhibition on the dam and the Cauvery. He later made an unscheduled stop at Chinnakavoor village to meet farmers.
காவிரி டெல்டா மாவட்டங்களின் பாசனத்திற்காகவும், குடிநீர்த் தேவைக்காகவும் மேட்டூர் அணையிலிருந்து தண்ணீர் திறந்து விடுவதற்காக இன்று (1.9.2026) சேலம் மாவட்டத்திற்கு வருகைதந்த மாண்புமிகு தமிழ்நாடு முதலமைச்சர் திரு.ச.ஜோசப் விஜய் அவர்களுக்குப் பெருந்திரளான பொதுமக்கள் உற்சாக வரவேற்பு… pic.twitter.com/0g8NneavzH
— CMOTamilNadu (@CMOTamilnadu) September 1, 2026
Opposition parties have said high-profile official events and travel by the CM are becoming vehicles for large-scale public expenditure that is difficult to justify, particularly when farmers were facing water shortages and the state was under fiscal pressure.
BJP state president Nainar Nagendran compared the alleged Rs 5-crore cost of the visit with the Mettur Dam’s original construction cost of around Rs 4.80 crore. He questioned the need for such expenditure when the reservoir was only partially full and delta farmers were already facing the impact of delayed water release and shortfalls in Cauvery supplies from Karnataka.
EPS also criticised what he described as lavish arrangements for Vijay, including the shifting of the Chief Minister’s Office to the 10th floor of the Namakkal Kavignar building, reportedly to “benefit from the sea breeze”.
“If the glass window of his office is open, the sea breeze should fall on him while looking at the sea. He is a costly Chief Minister. Whose money is this?” EPS said at a public meeting in Salem on Sunday.
DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan also questioned the government’s spending priorities, claiming that more than Rs 4 crore had been spent merely to open the dam. He also raised questions over the expenditure on Vijay’s London visit and the relocation of his office.
“For his London visit, I don’t know how much they spent,” Elangovan said, adding that the shift of the Chief Minister’s Office 10th floor was reportedly done on the advice of an astrologer. “So, they go by the advice of the astrologer, not by anything else,” he said.
Vijay’s UK visit, his first official overseas trip, had also drawn Opposition criticism, with AIADMK and BJP leaders questioning whether it was primarily an investment mission or merely a personal tour. They referred to his visit to the Silverstone motor-racing circuit, interactions with actor-racer Ajith Kumar and others and raised questions about the accompanying delegation and the investment outcomes claimed by the government.
(Edited by Chingkheinganbi Mayengbam)