Irregularities In ORR Contract: CM Revanth orders SIT probe

Hyderabad: ‘You ask, we act’ was the kind of situation that was witnessed in the Assembly on Thursday. BRS leader T Harish Rao demanded that the ORR tenders be cancelled, and a probe ordered. And Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy ordered a probe into the ORR controversy.

Revanth Reddy said a Special Investigation Team (SIT) would be constituted probe the alleged irregularities in the tender process of toll ORR contract given during the BRS regime. He reiterated that the ORR was ‘sold away’ prior to the Assembly polls and alleged that the KCR family had then decided to flee the country following the contract.

Referring to Harish Rao as the former Finance Minister, the CM said time has come for a probe and since Harish Rao had himself asked for it, he was ordering a detailed investigation. “We will also discuss the issue in the Cabinet meeting and formulate the procedures,” he said. Harish Rao said he was asking for the cancellation of tenders only. “First cancel the tenders, then you may take up the investigation, he said.

Later, Harish Rao said he had only asked for the cancellation of tenders but the Chief Minister had twisted his statement saying that he had asked for a probe. Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy said that due process must be followed to cancel the tenders. Unless a probe was taken up, it will not be known whether irregularities had taken place or not and hence probe has been ordered, he added.

The controversial ORR contract was finalised in 2023 just before the Assembly elections. The lease for toll collection of ORR was awarded for a period of 30 years to a Mumbai-based company, the IRB Infrastructure Developers Limited, for Rs 7,380 crore.