Hyderabad: BRS MLA and former minister Harish Rao alleged large-scale irregularities in integrated school tenders and accused the state government of inflating costs and skewing allocations.
He said the government used retired officials in key posts to push decisions in the integrated schools programme. Moreover, officials grouped four to five schools into single packages to enable manipulation.
According to Harish Rao, authorities finalised tenders for 76 integrated schools across the state. However, they did not allot a single project to 26 constituencies represented by sitting BRS MLAs. As a result, he termed the exclusions deliberate and politically driven.
He said the government allotted contracts to 10 MLAs who shifted from BRS to Congress. In addition, it favoured a few BJP legislators. Therefore, he claimed this pattern exposed bias in allocations.
Contractors, he said, formed an organised ring and split the works among themselves. Meanwhile, they quoted excess rates within a narrow band to stay below scrutiny. Bids ranged from 4.59% to 4.96% above estimates, he said.
Harish Rao details tender figures and allocation pattern
Each school carried an allocation of about Rs 250 crore, he said. Of this, civil works alone crossed Rs 150 crore per project. The official estimate for 76 schools stood at Rs 10,199.54 crore.
However, contractors secured works at Rs 10,693.55 crore. Consequently, the excess burden rose to around Rs 494 crore, he alleged. This, he said, showed a calculated approach to inflate costs.
Harish Rao pointed to higher excess rates in constituencies represented by key leaders. For instance, Kodangal and Madhira recorded 4.95% excess. Similarly, Huzurnagar, Husnabad, Khammam and Mulugu showed comparable figures.
Warangal East registered 4.99% excess. In contrast, Nalgonda recorded 4.87%. Anthole and Vikarabad also reflected high excess rates, he added.
A single firm, KLSR, secured nine contracts, including one in the Chief Minister’s constituency, he said. Notably, the Chief Minister used a vehicle registered under the same company.
He contrasted this with the previous BRS government. Earlier, it implemented development schemes across all 119 constituencies without political bias. He cited Mission Kakatiya, Mission Bhagiratha and gurukul institutions as examples.
He also said the Dalit Bandhu pilot began in Madhira when Bhatti Vikramarka was in the opposition. Thus, he called it proof of impartial governance.
Finally, Harish Rao said the party would raise the issue in the Assembly. He added that he would submit documents and evidence during the session.