Rizvi’s VRS sparks political storm, exposes Excise tender row

Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao has urged the Chief Secretary to reject IAS officer S.A.M. Rizvi’s voluntary retirement, citing alleged misconduct in the allocation of high-security liquor tenders and political interference, highlighting governance concerns and bureaucratic pressure in Telangana.

Hyderabad: The controversy surrounding Principal Secretary (Commercial Taxes and Excise) Syed Ali Murtaza Rizvi’s decision to seek voluntary retirement has taken a political turn, with Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao urging the Chief Secretary to reject the IAS officer’s application. The development has once again thrown light on alleged irregularities in the allotment of Excise tenders and political interference in key administrative decisions.

While Rizvi reportedly cited personal reasons for seeking voluntary retirement, the Minister has accused him of misconduct, disobedience and dereliction of duty. The State government had, on Tuesday, accepted Rizvi’s VRS application and appointed Commercial Tax Commissioner M. Raghunandan Rao as Full Additional Incharge.

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However, in a letter to the Chief Secretary on Wednesday, the Minister alleged grave misconduct by Rizvi and sought rejection of his VRS, claiming the officer’s actions might attract criminal liability.

At the heart of the dispute is the tender process for high-security holograms and 2D barcodes to be affixed on liquor bottles to enable tracking and tracing of liquor sales. The project, estimated to be worth nearly Rs.100 crore, had reportedly drawn interest from individuals with political backing. The Minister is said to have directed Rizvi to expedite the process.

Following an expert committee’s recommendation to adopt the latest technology, Rizvi allegedly moved a file seeking reconstitution of the committee by removing the Principal Secretary’s position. This, according to the Minister, violated established business rules and triggered speculation in the Secretariat.

Despite the Excise Department issuing orders on October 17, 2024, Rizvi allegedly failed to comply and continued to move files contrary to ministerial directions.

“Though this move was in deviation of the Minister’s repeated orders, no business rule was quoted. I knew as per the Business Rules the orders of the Minister were final and binding on him,” Krishna Rao stated in his letter.

The Minister further claimed that Rizvi failed to share the draft Expression of Interest (EoI) despite repeated instructions. When the EoI was finally issued on April 30, 2025, 23 companies reportedly responded, but no further action was taken, stalling the entire tendering process.

“In view of the alleged grave misconduct, please take steps to ensure that the VRS application is rejected and not approved,” Krishna Rao wrote to the Chief Secretary.

The latest row adds to the growing list of controversies involving tender allocations across departments. After Forest Minister Konda Surekha’s daughter, Konda Sushmitha, questioned Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy’s role in the Medaram Jatara tenders, and former Minister T. Jeevan Reddy raised concerns over the award of works to a single firm in Jagtial, Rizvi’s VRS episode has once again highlighted the political pressure on bureaucrats and alleged irregularities in governance.