TS BJP president and Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Tuesday demanded that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao order a full-fledged inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the tender process for the upkeep of the Outer Ring Road (ORR).
In a communication to the Chief Minister, a copy of which was released to the media, the BJP chief said there had been lot of allegations against the entire process of handing over the ORR tender to a private firm and said the government was duty-bound to clear the doubts in people’s minds about the deal.
He said the government had been receiving up to ₹415 crore as income every year and at 5% growth, the income was sure to reach ₹30,000 crore each year but strangely this calculation was not considered before considering the present deal which was shrouded in secrecy.
Mr. Sanjay Kumat charged that the firm which had bagged the contract had been undertaking similar work on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway for which the agreement with the Maharashtra Government had been ₹8,875 crore for a 10-year period for the 1,014 km project. Yet, the state government had signed a pact with the said firm for less income though the distance and time period was more.
The BRS Government had already been stained with liquor and other scams therefore, the silence of the Chief Minister on the raging issue had raised eyebrows. There had been a cloud of secrecy from the notification to finalisation of the tender with the government not forthcoming on the base price, he charged.
On the other hand, the government had been resorting to coercive tactics with threats and legal notices against those who had raised questions about the deal when the need of the hour was to apprise people of the facts of the case, he said.
Party manifesto
Earlier, at a meeting with the task force led by former member of the TS Public Service Commission Ch. Vittal on preparing the manifesto for the forthcoming elections, the party chief urged the members to take into consideration the issues which were dear to the common people, the middle class and steps to be taken for amelioration of weaker sections like the SCs/STs/Bcs and so on.
The panel is to interact with eminent people from various fields and organisations, and collect information about the issues raised by the party president in the last three years against the government and promises made during the various protest programmes like free health, education and housing to the poor if the party was elected to power.
Job recruitment yearly calender and insurance for the farmers had been the other promises made during the walkathons and public meetings. The consultation process was to begin from Tuesday when the proposed BC sub plan, BC declaration and other issues would be studied along with other members of the task force including former MP Dr. B. Narasaiah Goud, former Minister Marri Sashidhar Reddy, retired IAS office R. Chandravadan, retired IPS officer Krishna Prasad, general secretary D. Pradeep Kumar, SC Morcha general secretary S. Kumar and Mahila Morcha leader Karuna Gopal.
Once the task force report was ready, it would be discussed by the core committee and state executive to finalise the manifesto, said party sources.
