From Power Deals To Sheep Scam: After Electoral Rout, KCR And BRS Face Corruption Heat

The Telangana High Court recently rejected former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s (KCR) plea against a panel formed to look into allegations of corruption in the power sector during KCR's tenure.

The allegations concern certain power purchase agreements signed between the states of Telangana and Chhattisgarh by the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) government, as well as the purchase of equipment for thermal power plants.

However, it's not only the power sector dealings.

Earlier this month, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) wrote to the Telangana State Sheep and Goat Development Cooperative Federation, seeking details about the Rs 700 crore sheep distribution scam. The Anti-Corruption Bureau is probing the issue now.

Launched in 2017, the BRS government's Sheep Rearing Development Scheme aimed to improve the economic conditions of shepherd families. Under the first phase, each family received 20 sheep with a 75 per cent subsidy.

However, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) flagged irregularities in the scheme’s implementation — improper invoices, fake vehicle registration numbers, and the transport of a large number of sheep in small vehicles.

In one instance, 126 sheep were apparently transported on a single trip in a two-wheeler!

Furthermore, the ED is also probing the role of KCR's daughter, K Kavitha, in the Delhi liquor scam.

She is allegedly a member of the 'South Group' cartel that is said to have paid Rs 100 crore in bribes to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) functionaries to secure favorable provisions in Delhi's 2021-22 excise policy.

Kavitha is lodged in Tihar jail; her bail plea was rejected by the Delhi High Court recently.

All these different allegations are part of a broader spectrum of corruption charges against KCR and his party. Here's a quick look at them:

Kaleswaram Lift Irrigation Project

A CAG report about the BRS government’s flagship Kaleswaram lift irrigation project flagged cost overruns, besides deeming it economically unviable. Undue benefits of at least Rs 2,684 crore to contractors could not be ruled out, it said.

The quality of construction was also called into question due to the collapse of some piers of the Medigadda barrage (part of the project) about four years after construction.

Miyapur Land Scam

The land scam in and around Miyapur was about undervaluing land prices and depriving the state government of about Rs 500 crore in revenue from stamp duties and registration fees. Allegations of faking ownership documents also came to light. 

BRS leader and Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) K Keshava Rao was allegedly one of the buyers of the land.

Hyderabad Outer Ring Road Lease

Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy accused the BRS government of leasing out the Outer Ring Ring Road (ORR) for Rs 7,380 crore when revenues generated from it over the next 30 years are estimated to be Rs 30,000 crore.

He alleged that large sums of money had exchanged hands for the deal to occur.

Therefore, even after the recent electoral rout in which the party failed to win a single Lok Sabha seat, there are further troubles awaiting KCR, his family, and the BRS in the form of corruption probes.

Also Read: From A National Pitch Just Two Years Ago, KCR's BRS Is Struggling To Survive In Telangana Politics — What Went Wrong?