Tirupati: The Telugu Desam has levelled allegations against the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, alleging irregularities in procurement of ghee used for the Tirumala Laddu preparations during the YSR Congress term.
Addressing a press conference at the TD office in Nellore on Wednesday, party spokesman Anam Venkataramana Reddy alleged discrepancies in the ghee procurement from 2019 to 2024. The use of a reverse tendering system during that time allowed purchase of substandard ghee at low prices, he said.
Anam said that while TTD paid Rs 496.90 per kg ghee in 2023, the price dropped to Rs 320 per kg in six months, when it was offered by Tamil Nadu-based AR Dairy Foods. From August 2019 to July 2020, TTD procured 22.58 lakh kg of ghee at Rs 389.90/kg, followed by 7 lakh kg at Rs 294.10/kg from August to December 2020.
This apart, 10 lakh kg ghee was procured at Rs 324.96/kg between Dec 2020 and May 2021. From June 2021 to March 2022, 25 lakh kg of ghee was purchased at `392.22/kg.
Anam asked how such a drastic reduction in prices could be feasible without compromising quality. He accused AR Dairy Foods of supplying adulterated ghee and claimed that the sharp drop in procurement costs was the result of a nexus formed during the YSRC term to extract commissions.
Reddy also alleged that the YSRC administration had forced TTD to relax key tender norms, such as reducing the operating history requirement for participating dairies from three years to one year, lowering the annual turnover requirement from Rs 250 crore to Rs 150 crore, and eliminating conditions regarding the capacity to procure and store large volumes of milk and ghee.
He argued that these changes were part of a deliberate attempt to benefit certain companies.
The TD spokesperson produced waybills that, he alleged, proved the transportation of ghee from Vyshnavi Dairy in Tirupati district to AR Dairy in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu. A ghee tanker travelled nearly 500km and returned with adulterated ghee to Tirumala the next day, which was then handed over to TTD in July 2024, he claimed.
Anam urged YSRC leaders, including former TTD chairpersons Y.V. Subba Reddy and Bhumana Karunakar Reddy, to seek forgiveness from Lord Balaji for their alleged involvement in the irregularities.
