The Periyar Arivulagam library, a modern facility constructed at a cost of approximately 300 crore rupees, has become the center of a major controversy following allegations of a multi-crore procurement scam. The seven-story library, spanning seven acres, was inaugurated by Chief Minister Joseph Vijay on October 16, 2026. While the project was initiated during the previous DMK administration, its completion and subsequent opening have been marred by political debate and now, reports of substandard, fabricated literature filling its shelves.
Concerns regarding the library's operations intensified after visitors discovered that a significant portion of the collection appears to be fraudulent. A closer inspection of the Tamil section on the fourth floor revealed that nearly 1,800 books were supplied by a single entity identified as 'Agalvilakku Pathippagam'. Many of these volumes, which are priced exorbitantly—often exceeding 1,400 rupees for a 300-page book—contain historically inaccurate and nonsensical content.
Critics have pointed to glaring errors in these publications. For instance, one book titled 'Naladiyar Vazhvin Vazhikatti' describes the Naladiyar—a collection of 400 quatrains by Jain monks—as a single philosopher and poet. Another volume, 'Madurai Kanchi Oru Ilakkiya Payanam', incorrectly identifies the author of the Madurai Kanchi as a king named 'Koozhathi Peruvazhuthi', rather than the poet Mangudi Maruthanar. Furthermore, a book titled 'Bharathiyar Kathaigal' attributes a story about a man selling sandals in Madurai to the poet Bharathiyar, a claim that defies established literary history.
Investigations into the books have raised further red flags. The International Standard Book Numbers (ISBNs) printed on these volumes reportedly do not exist in official databases. Additionally, the address provided for Agalvilakku Pathippagam—3/448, Bharat Nagar, Brahmaputra Street, Madipakkam, Chennai—could not be verified via mapping services. The publisher provides only an email address for contact, with no functional phone number listed.
Beyond the content, the sheer volume of books from obscure publishers like Agalvilakku and Phoenix Pathippagam suggests a systematic effort to fill the library with low-quality, AI-generated, or fabricated material. Observers note that the authors' names appear to be pseudonyms, and the entire procurement process appears designed to facilitate financial misappropriation. There are now urgent calls for an independent inquiry to investigate the scale of the alleged corruption, identify those responsible for the procurement, and remove the fraudulent books from the library shelves immediately.