Hyderabad: BRS senior leader and MLC Dasoju Sravan has questioned the state government's decision to centralise the procurement of groceries and essential commodities for lakhs of impoverished students studying in SC, ST, BC, minority, and welfare residential schools and hostels. Sravan alleged that there was a conspiracy to embezzle crores of rupees in commission behind these centralised tenders.
Letter to Chief Minister
In a letter to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Chief Secretary K Rama Krishna Rao on Saturday, the MLC wondered whether a district collector, who can successfully execute complex land acquisitions, manage irrigation projects worth hundreds of crores, oversee the public distribution system, handle housing schemes, and seamlessly conduct highly sensitive elections, lacks the basic capability to procure quality red gram and cooking oil for hostels within their own districts.
Impact on Local Farmers
Sravan said the government was snatching away the home-grown Telangana brand Tandur Red Gram, which holds an international Geographical Indication (GI Tag) and possesses the highest nutritional value, from the meals of poor residential students. “For the personal profit of corporate contractors, plans are underway to bypass local farmers and instead import cheap, substandard, long-stored pulses from African countries (like Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania) that carry heavy chemical and pesticide residues,” he claimed.
Demand for Transparency
As per the transparent guidelines followed by the Telangana State Food Corporation, grocery tenders must be called once every three months. He demanded the government completely scrap the controversial centralised grocery tender notification and restore transparent, accountable procurement through the established District Procurement Committees (DPCs).
About the Author: Koride Mahesh has been working with the Times of India, Hyderabad for over two decades. He is currently senior assistant editor of TOI, Hyderabad. He holds a PhD in Journalism and has a total of 32 years of experience in print journalism. He extensively writes on urban infrastructure, projects, civic issues, real estate market, land issues, energy, irrigation and state government administration in Telangana. He also covers state political developments, especially BRS.
