KURNOOL: Srisailam Temple Trust Board chairman Reddivari Chakrapani Reddy alleged irregularities in the purchase of essentials meant for making of laddus. The chairman alleged that the temple management incurred a loss to the tune of Rs 1 crore in purchase of essentials meant for making laddus alone and added that he would take up the issue with the Chief Minister for a proper probe into the matter.
Chakrapani Reddy said that only a couple of persons have been participating in the tenders for the past 20 years and there was a huge misappropriation of funds causing serious loss to the temple’s income. The matter was brought to the notice of the minister and the higher officials of endowments department, he added.
Chakrapani Reddy said the matter should be referred to the vigilance department and the misappropriated amount should be recovered and deposited to the temple. “The concerned contractor should be arrested and his licence must be cancelled if any scam is found in the probe.”
To buttress his argument, the chairman said that he meticulously examined all bills and rates in the month of November and found a mismatch of Rs 40 lakh. “As per November rates, the price of grapes was mentioned Rs 320 per kilo in tender while it was available at Rs 240 per kilo. Same is the case with bengal gram, which was purchased at Rs 84 per kilo, but was available at Rs 70 per kilo, sugar for Rs 42 per kilo while it was available at Rs 37 per kilo. Likewise, the price of cashew was mentioned as Rs 965 per kilo while it was available at Rs 750 per kilo, cardamom was available at Rs 4,100 per kilo, while it was availed at a cost of Rs 1600 per kilo,’’ he explained.
He expressed hope that if all the prices and bills for the entire year were scrutinised, the amount may be more than a few crores. The chairman revealed that though he came to know about the discrepancies, he maintained silence to keep the sanctity of the temple. Recalling an earlier scam, he said two years back, vigilance committee found irregularities in sale of prasadams and darshan tickets. Those responsible were taken into custody.
However, the temple officials claimed the tender process was done in a transparent manner. Reacting on these allegations, the temple executive officer S Lavanna, in a press statement on Wednesday, said that they were following e-procurement, which was called through two newspaper publications including one Telugu and one English newspaper every year.
“The present tender continued from January 2022. We are monitoring the quality and quantity of the material supplied,” he added. Lavanna said that prices of material might have changed from the time tender was finalised and in the following months. “Suppose one kg of ghee costs Rs 700 in the market but it is being supplied at Rs 489.60 per kg as per the tender. Every month the temple purchases 40,000 kg of ghee and comparing with the present prices and saving Rs 80 lakh per month on ghee alone,’’ he said and added that they would follow reverse tendering system for transparency.