Singareni contract scam: Harish Rao demands in-depth investigation, white paper
BRS leader T Harish Rao accused the Congress government of manipulating Singareni tender norms to benefit select contractors, named the Chief Minister’s kin as beneficiaries and demanded cancellation of tenders and a judicial or CBI inquiry into the alleged scam
Hyderabad: Reiterating his demand for cancellation of the Singareni contracts and conduct of an in-depth investigation into the multi-crore scam, BRS deputy floor leader T Harish Rao charged the Congress government with systematically altering long-standing tender norms. Instead of taking corrective measures, he ridiculed the Congress government’s attempts to blame the previous BRS regime and mislead the people.
He directly named Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and his brother-in-law Srujan Reddy as key beneficiaries of the allegedly manipulated tender process in Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL).
Rebutting allegations made by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Harish Rao accused the government of systematically altering long-standing tender norms for overburden (OB) removal works to favour select contractors. He asserted that the newly introduced ‘site visit confirmation certificate’ condition was selectively enforced to restrict competition and channel contracts to firms linked to the Chief Minister’s family.
“If the Chief Minister himself is the mastermind, what does Bhatti Vikramarka want to achieve by consulting him before ordering a probe into irregularities?” Harish Rao asked, dismissing Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka’s recent claims to consult the Chief Minister and look into the alleged irregularities. He criticised Bhatti Vikramarka for evading answers on who was responsible for changing norms, who benefited from it and the losses incurred by SCCL due to it.
“Instead, he went beating around the bush to blame the previous BRS government with irrelevant documents to mislead people,” he said.
Pointing to the contentious site visit certification cited by Bhatti Vikramarka and attributed to the Central Mine Planning and Design Institute (CMPDI), the BRS deputy floor leader said the technical condition was historically applicable only to specialised Design, Supply, Erection and Commissioning (DSEC) works in confined industrial settings, but not to large-scale overburden (OB) removal contracts in open cast mines.
He said between 2018 and 2024, hundreds of OB tenders were processed without such a clause. However, after the Congress government took office, the condition was introduced in 2025 for select tenders. According to him, this change reduced bidder participation and led to contracts being awarded at rates higher than departmental estimates.
“The Chief Minister’s brother-in-law is the first direct beneficiary of this norm,” he added.
Harish Rao cited the Bhupalpally tender awarded in January 2025 at 7 per cent below the estimated cost without a site visit clause, and contrasted it with later tenders where the clause was imposed, allegedly pushing rates upward. He stated that despite contractors visiting the site, the officials concerned issued certificates only in the final hours before the deadline, preventing them from bidding.
“These rules were twisted to eliminate experienced local contractors and benefit chosen companies,” he alleged. Stating that some of these contractors had also lodged complaints, he demanded disclosure of all correspondence and internal minutes in this regard. Unless the government comes out clean, he warned of exposing all emails along with photographs of secret meetings involving those in power to benefit specific contractors.
The former Minister also accused the Congress government of financial mismanagement within SCCL. He said Singareni earned profits of nearly Rs 6,900 crore, but only a fraction was officially reflected, alleging worker bonuses were curtailed while funds were diverted for political publicity and extravaganzas like the Chief Minister’s football match with Lionel Messi.
He linked falling coal production to the sidelining of experienced contractors. Quoting internal coal production figures, he said output had dipped from 70 million tonnes in 2023 to 69 million tonnes in 2024-25 and to a mere 43 million tonnes in 10 months of the current 2025-26, after the change in government.
The BRS leader also charged the government with weakening worker welfare systems, including delays in medical board assessments that enable dependent employment, which was a long-standing policy in SCCL.
Harish Rao demanded cancellation of all OB and related tenders processed under the revised norms and called for an inquiry by a sitting High Court judge or the CBI. He also sought a white paper detailing the tender modifications, contractor complaints and the decision-making process. He questioned the silence of BJP leaders and the Union government over what he described as a massive scam and irregularities.
