Hyderabad: BRS leader and former minister Harish Rao alleged Singareni tender manipulation in the Singareni Collieries Company Limited and accused the Congress government of allowing contractor cartels to influence major projects.
In a statement on Sunday, he said the –12% bid recorded in the SRP OC-II tender exposed alleged cartelisation in Singareni tenders. According to him, the result showed how contractor groups operated under the present government.
Harish Rao said the Bharat Rashtra Samithi had earlier raised concerns over irregularities in Overburden tenders. He claimed the site visit certificate system was used to control bidders and favour select contractors.
He also pointed out that authorities postponed the financial bid opening for the SRP OC-II tender at Srirampur seven times. According to him, the repeated delays raised suspicions of efforts to facilitate a contractor cartel.
–12% bid fuels Singareni tender manipulation allegations
Harish Rao said authorities eventually opened the financial bids after pressure from BRS leaders and growing public scrutiny.
Once officials opened the bids without restrictions, the tender reportedly closed at –12%. He claimed this was the first negative bid recorded after the site visit certificate system was introduced in Singareni tenders.
According to him, the development highlighted alleged Singareni tender manipulation and showed how contractor groups could influence pricing.
He argued that when cartelisation collapses, genuine competition returns and tender rates decline.
The BRS leader further alleged that earlier tenders finalised between +7% and +10% did not reflect genuine market competition. Instead, he claimed the results indicated manipulation by contractor groups within the tender process.
