Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao (KTR) on Monday, August 10, wrote to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman alleging serious irregularities in the Rs 202 crore centrally-funded PM Ekta (Unity) Mall project in Hyderabad, demanding that the tender be cancelled and an independent probe ordered.
In the letter, KTR said the way the Telangana government had structured the project at Raidurg raised concerns of financial impropriety, misuse of public resources and disproportionate benefit to a private party.
He said the Rs 2,059.81 crore project, spread over 6.30 acre with about 27 lakh sq ft of built-up area, allotted the government a minimum share of roughly 9 lakh sq ft while entitling the private developer to at least 18 lakh sq ft, twice the government’s minimum share.
KTR names developer consortium
The selected consortium, comprising Vamsiram Builders and Developers as lead member, along with Aparna Infrahousing, had offered an additional 18,000 sq ft of office space over the government’s minimum share, taking the state’s total to 9.18 lakh sq ft, he said, while the developer’s share could rise further with planning efficiencies or future floor space index.
KTR flagged the routing of central assistance, including a Rs 200 crore interest-free loan under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) scheme, through the Telangana Trade Promotion Corporation Limited to (TGTPC) the developer on a “back-to-back basis,” saying the financial structure needed independent scrutiny before further funds were released.
BRS leader seeks CAG-level probe
He said the Congress government could not use the PM Ekta Mall branding or central funding as a shield, asserting that “a prestigious name cannot make an opaque arrangement transparent.”
Citing the BRS’s earlier complaints on the AMRUT tender and coal allocation matters, KTR said the Centre could not remain a “silent spectator” given the scale of central assistance involved and sought an independent examination by audit, vigilance and investigative authorities, including the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) where applicable.
He demanded that the disbursement of funds be stopped, the tender cancelled and responsibility fixed if impropriety was established.
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