RS Praveen Kumar alleges Rs 2,041 crore scam in residential schools supplies

BRS General Secretary Praveen Kumar has alleged a Rs 2,041 crore scam in the procurement of commodities for residential schools in Telangana. He accused contractors of irregularities, including links to drug peddling, and challenged SC and ST Welfare Minister Adluri Laxman to an open debate at the Press Club on July 2.

Hyderabad: BRS General Secretary RS Praveen Kumar on Saturday alleged a Rs 2,041 crore scam in the procurement of commodities for residential schools and challenged SC and ST Welfare Minister Adluri Laxman to an open debate on the issue at the Press Club, Somajiguda, on July 2.

Praveen Kumar said that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy continued to make tall claims about eradicating drugs from the State. However, he claimed that Niranjan Jain, a contractor for supplying trunk boxes, was involved in drug peddling. He questioned what guarantee there was that drugs would not reach children under the guise of trunk boxes.

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He recalled that City Police Commissioner CV Anand had earlier stated that Niranjan Kumar Jain owned several businesses and had allegedly approached drug peddlers nearly 30 times.

At a press conference here on Saturday, Praveen Kumar also questioned why TSCO, which was meant to work for the welfare of weavers, had awarded the fabric supply contract to Rajesh Agarwal.

He also charged that whenever charges were raised against the Congress government, the Chief Minister deputed Ministers Ponnam Prabhakar, Adluri Laxman and Mohammed Azharuddin to respond.

However, he claimed that meetings related to financial matters were being held in star hotels. The Ministers were kept in the dark about these meetings. Draft government orders were issued soon after the meetings, but copies were not shared with the Ministers. The Chief Minister alone was signing them, he alleged.

Praveen Kumar claimed that industrial unit managements across different regions were referring to Jaiveer Reddy, Niranjan Jain and Mafatlal in connection with the award of contracts.

He alleged that tender specifications were being framed to suit the eligibility of their firms and questioned the connection between Mafatlal and Vem Narender Reddy. An inquiry should be conducted into their alleged nexus with the government, he demanded.

He also questioned how the Telangana Leather Corporation was entrusted with contracts for supplying stationery, ID cards, ties and belts. The BRS government would probe all these alleged irregularities after returning to power, he asserted.

“Minister Adluri Laxman says the government floated tenders worth only Rs 674 crore and dismissed our allegations of a scam. We will be at the Press Club on July 2 at 11 a.m. for a debate and prove our allegations,” Praveen Kumar said.

He alleged that nearly 26 days after the academic year began, students had yet to receive uniforms, utensils, school bags, bed sheets, towels and trunk boxes. In many places, notebooks and textbooks had also not been supplied.

Praveen Kumar said that during the BRS government’s tenure, officials planned the procurement and delivery of these items between January and February. He claimed that contractors from Telangana were given priority, whereas the Congress government was now awarding contracts to firms from other States.