Harish Rao alleges Rs 1,000-crore irregularities in Integrated Model Schools tenders

BRS leader T Harish Rao alleged large-scale irregularities worth around Rs 1,000 crore in Telangana’s Integrated Model Schools project, accusing the government of favouritism, inflated tenders and political bias in allocation of contracts and constituencies

Hyderabad: BRSLP deputy leader T Harish Rao on Friday flagged large-scale irregularities in the construction of Integrated Model Schools across Telangana. He accused the Congress government of favouritism, inflated tenders and misuse of retired officials in key positions to facilitate a scam running into around Rs 1,000 crore.

During an informal interaction with mediapersons at the Assembly, Harish Rao said the programme was being executed under the direct supervision of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and alleged that several crucial posts, including those of Engineer-in-Chief and Chief Engineer, were currently held by retired officials. Bundling multiple schools into single tender packages had created scope for large-scale irregularities, amounting to nearly Rs 1,000 crore, he said, adding that tenders for 76 schools had been finalised so far, but none of the projects were allotted to the 26 Assembly constituencies represented by BRS MLAs, allegedly due to political motives. In contrast, schools were sanctioned to constituencies represented by Congress MLAs, including those who had defected from the BRS, as well as to some BJP members, he said.

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The BRSLP deputy leader stated that contractors formed a syndicate and quoted rates just below the permissible five per cent limit above the estimated cost to secure contracts. Bids were finalised at excess rates ranging between about 4.5 per cent and 4.99 per cent, resulting in a significant financial burden on the exchequer. While the estimated cost for the 76 schools was about Rs 10,199 crore, he said contracts were finalised for around Rs 10,693 crore, indicating an excess of nearly Rs 494 crore.

“The highest excess rates were recorded in constituencies represented by Ministers and senior leaders, including Kodangal, Madhira, Huzurnagar, Husnabad, Kollapur, Warangal East, Nalgonda, Khammam, Mulugu, Andole, Vikarabad and Manthani, which raises serious doubts over the transparency of the process,” he added.

Harish Rao revealed that a private firm linked to a vehicle used by the Chief Minister secured multiple school contracts, including in the Chief Minister’s own constituency, and emphasised the need for a thorough probe.

Recalling the previous BRS government’s tenure under K Chandrashekar Rao, Harish Rao said development schemes such as Mission Kakatiya, Mission Bhagiratha, Gurukul schools and medical colleges were implemented uniformly in all constituencies without political discrimination. He accused the present government of denying projects to certain constituencies out of vendetta and said the party would raise the issue in the Assembly with documentary evidence.