Srinivas Reddy to File Defamation Suit Against KTR Over AMRUT Tender Allegations
Telangana Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy has declared his intention to file a defamation suit against BRS Working President K T Rama Rao (KTR) in response to recent accusations.
Hyderabad: Telangana Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy has declared his intention to file a defamation suit against BRS Working President K T Rama Rao (KTR) in response to recent accusations.
During a media briefing at the Secretariat on Saturday, Srinivas Reddy strongly refuted KTR’s allegations of a Rs 8,888 crore tender scandal under the AMRUT 2.0 scheme. “I am prepared to resign if KTR can prove that tenders worth Rs 8,888 crore were issued. Will KTR resign if he fails to substantiate his claims?” Reddy questioned.
Reddy clarified that the Congress government had reissued global tenders for three AMRUT projects, amounting to Rs 3,516 crore, not Rs 8,888 crore as KTR claimed. He also questioned the origin of KTR’s inflated figure of Rs 8,888 crore.
Elaborating on the tender details, Reddy mentioned that the former BRS government had initially issued tenders for three AMRUT projects worth Rs 3,516 crore in September 2023. Contracts were awarded to PLA Projects Private Limited, Mega Construction, and Gaja Constructions on November 29, 2023, just one day prior to the state elections. These contracts were awarded with a cost escalation of 3.99 percent.
Following the Congress party’s victory, these tenders were cancelled, and new tenders were called. The revised contracts were awarded to KNR Constructions Limited, AMR Constructions Limited, and Mega Constructions, with a lower cost escalation of 2.99 percent.
Reddy also criticized the former BRS government, accusing it of misappropriating Rs 39,000 crore in public funds under the Mission Bhagiratha scheme. He urged KTR to back his criticisms with concrete evidence, highlighting that Srujan Reddy, the son-in-law of Upender Reddy, who had contested against him in Khammam, received one of the contracts.
Reddy concluded by assuring that no companies were subjected to political pressure during the re-tendering process, noting that the revised bids saved Rs 54 crore compared to the previous tenders.
