Hyderabad: Telangana transport minister Ponnam Prabhakar sent a legal notice to seven persons including Huzurabad BRS MLA Kaushik Reddy for “accusing” him of corruption of Rs 100 crores in an alleged fly ash scam at the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Ramagundam.
A defamation notice was served to Kaushik Reddy along with T News MD Santosh Kumar, Namaste Telangana Editor Tigulla Krishnamurthy, Telangana Publication Pvt Ltd, and Telangana Broadcasting Pvt Ltd over the subject.
The Huzurabad MLA had alleged that Ponnam Prabhakar was receiving Rs 50 lakh as kickbacks for the illegal transportation of fly ash from NTPC Ramagundam on a daily basis. He had accused Prabhakar’s nephew Anup of engaging in collecting the money.
Kaushik alleged he had caught 13 trucks red-handedly but the transport department seized two trucks and the rest were released after the minister made phone calls. He had challenged Prabhakar for a debate on the allegations.
Fly ash, a byproduct in coal-fired power stations is suitable for various applications, including concrete, dams, flowable fillings, mines, and landfills for its cementitious character after reacting with lime.
NTPC Ramagundam is a 2,600 megawatt (MW) superthermal power station and is the largest power station in South India and the first ISO 14001 certified “Super Thermal Power Station” in the country.
