T. Harish Rao | Photo credit: SIDDHANT THAKUR
Former Minister T. Harish Rao alleged widespread rigging and cartelisation in Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) tenders and claimed the -12% bid recorded in the SRP OC-II tender clearly exposed how supplier cartels operated.
He said BRS had earlier raised serious concerns about irregularities in the Overburden (OB) tenders at Singareni and revealed how the controversial Site Visit Certificate system was used to screen bidders and favor selected contractors.
Mr. Rao pointed out that after BRS uncovered the problem, the opening of the financial bid for the SRP OC-II tender at Srirampur was delayed seven times, raising strong suspicions that attempts were being made to facilitate a supplier cartel.
However, due to constant pressure from the BRS and increasing public scrutiny, the authorities were eventually forced to open the financial bids without allowing the supply ring to operate. Once real competition resumed, the tender closed at -12%, the first negative bid recorded since the introduction of the site visit certificate system.
Mr. Harish Rao claimed that this single result exposed the entire manipulation. When the supply ring collapses, real competition returns and rates automatically fall. The -12% offer clearly proves that the earlier tenders that ended at +7% to +10% were not the results of the market, but the result of cartelization and manipulation.
He recalled that before the introduction of the Site Visit Certificate clause, tenders for the OB in Singareni were regularly finalized through competitive online bids in the range of -7% to -20%, which saved the public sector company hundreds of millions of crowns. But after the clause was introduced and the supply ring was allegedly operating under the influence of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s relative Srujan Reddy.
He further stated that the damage caused by this system goes beyond tenders. Due to delays and irregularities in OB works, coal mining at Singareni has declined. He demanded that the government should immediately ensure complete transparency in the Singareni tenders.
Published – 8 March 2026 21:19 IST
