Power scams during BRS rule: CM blasts KCR and Jagadish, cites huge loss to state

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Monday mounted a scathing attack on the BRS, citing huge irregularities and mismanagement in the state’s power sector during the two terms of former chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao.

Intervening during the debate on demands for grants, the Chief Minister said the BRS attempted to distort the Supreme Court’s judgment on the Commission of Inquiry set up by the present government to investigate irregularities in the power sector during the last 10 years.

Revanth Reddy said Chandrashekar Rao and former energy minister G. Jagadish Reddy approached the apex court with the intent to dissolve the commission and escape from the probe.

However, the Supreme Court directed the state government to merely replace the chairperson of the commission and proceed with the inquiry. The focus of the inquiry is the irregularities in power purchase agreements (PPAs) and in the setting up of new power plants during the BRS rule between 2014 and 2024, he said.

Revanth Reddy said, “KCR and Jagadish Reddy approached the High Court and the Supreme Court to stall the inquiry as they feared that they would be sent to the Cherlapally prison if the probe exposed their wrong-doings.”

The Chief Minister countered the claims of Chandrashekar Rao and Jagadish Reddy that the Supreme Court had found fault with the constitution of the commission. “The apex court has only asked us to change the commission chairman L Narasimha Reddy. We will appoint a new chairperson for it today itself. The probe will go on,” Revanth Reddy said.

He highlighted the significant delays and cost overruns in major power projects the state initiated during the BRS term.

By way of a background, the Chief Minister told the Assembly, “Initially, the BRS government entrusted the installation of the power projects to BHEL, a public sector entity, on a nomination basis. However, a significant portion of the civil works, involving substantial financial outlays, was handed over to individuals closely associated with the BRS leadership.”

Revanth Reddy said BHEL, in a similar bidding process for power plants with supercritical technology for the Jharkhand government, quoted 18 per cent less cost. “If the same competitive bidding process had been followed for the Yadadri and Bhadradri projects, Telangana state could have saved approximately `9,000 crore.”

He also noted that the civil works contracts were awarded to benamis of senior political leaders and MLAs who had switched their loyalties to the BRS from other parties.

The BRS government opted for subcritical technology instead of the available supercritical technology, with a view to receiving kickbacks (bribes) from the companies, he said.

Revanth Reddy stated, “The Bhadradri power project, which began in 2015 with an estimated cost of `7,290 crore, was meant for completion by 2017. However, the project was completed in 2022, with the costs escalating to `10,515 crore. It costs `9.73 crore to produce one Megawatt from this project, he said.

The Chief Minister criticised the handling of the Yadadri thermal power project by the BRS government. “Its expense was initially estimated at `25,000 crore and its completion by 2021, but the project remains incomplete even in 2024. During this drag, the costs have soared to `34,548 crore. Projections are that the costs would touch `40,000 crore upon its completion.”

There, he said, was potential for a further cost escalation by ` 5,000 crore to `6,000 crore. This would push the per MW cost to over `10 crore.

Revanth Reddy contrasted these figures with the costs of power generation by NTPC, which produces one Megawatt at `7.38 crore. In comparison, the Yadadri project’s cost stood at `8.64 crore per Megawatt.

The Chief Minister said the BRS misled both the Assembly and the public by citing a 2023 provision introduced by the central government, as a pretext to obscure the mistakes the KCR government made in 2015.

Winding up the speech, Revanth Reddy expressed his willingness to discuss the BRS’s decade-long misrule in a dedicated session of the legislature on August 1 and 2.