Hyderabad: Senior BRS leader T. Harish Rao alleged a HAM roads scam involving ₹18,000 crore and accused the state government of inflating tenders in road projects.
He made the allegations at the Assembly media point on Tuesday. Former minister Vemula Prashanth Reddy accompanied him during the interaction with reporters.
Harish Rao claimed that the Roads and Buildings and Panchayat Raj departments sanctioned mobilisation advances worth ₹18,000 crore. Moreover, he alleged that nearly ₹1,800 crore from this amount funded elections in four other states.
According to him, the HAM roads scam exposed irregularities in tendering practices and raised concerns about financial governance.
HAM roads scam allegations focus on tender deviations
Harish Rao said authorities finalised tenders at 15 percent to 20 percent above estimated costs. However, he pointed out that national trends usually show bids coming 20 percent to 30 percent below estimates.
He described the difference as a “50 percent deviation” and argued that it reflected inflated pricing in the projects. In addition, he alleged that officials bypassed standard tender norms during the process.
The BRS leader also claimed that authorities skipped approvals from the Committee of Tenders. Furthermore, he alleged bidder collusion that pushed quoted prices higher.
Harish Rao said the government also removed the 5 percent cap on premium bids, allowing contractors to quote prices above estimated costs.
“Until now, there was a ceiling limiting tender bids to a maximum of 5 percent above the estimated price; however, with this ceiling lifted for HAM projects, bids can now be submitted at any premium,” he said.
He further alleged that authorities pre-allocated works to selected contractors. Therefore, he argued that such practices weakened transparency in public infrastructure projects.
Harish Rao maintained that the HAM roads scam required scrutiny because of its scale and implications. He added that inflated tenders and alleged fund diversion affected public resources and accountability.
The allegations added to political criticism of the government over infrastructure spending and procurement practices.
