Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy announces probe into 30-year ORR lease by the BRS government

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy announces SIT probe into alleged financial misdeeds in ORR lease by BRS government.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy said a Special Investigation Team (SIT) would probe into the alleged financial misdeeds in the lease of the Outer Ring Road (ORR) to a private company for 30 years by the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) government.

Intervening in the debate in the Assembly on Thursday, Mr. Reddy said the guidelines for the probe would be discussed in the Cabinet. His statement was in response to BRS MLA Harish Rao’s comments during the debate on the debts during the BRS regime where the latter said the government can inquire into the ORR lease rather than frequently targeting the BRS on the issue.

Mr. Revanth Reddy intervened and said since Mr. Harish Rao has sought an inquiry the government would go for a SIT probe and he would discuss the issue with his Cabinet colleagues as well.

The toll collection and maintenance of ORR was leased to the IRB company for 30 years by the previous BRS government for ₹7,800 crore just before the 2023 Assembly elections. The decision led to a huge furore before the Assembly elections with the Congress accusing it of ‘selling’ the ORR for a meagre sum.

The Chief Minister’s intervention came during the heated debate where Mr. Harish Rao raised the issue of 400 acres of land transferred from the Revenue department to Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC) in Raidurgam by Congress for the land valued at ₹75 crore per acre. Responding to this, Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka said the Congress government did not give away the land to a private company like BRS that gave away the ORR tenders on lease for 30 years. Mr. Harish then asked the State government to cancel the contract if it felt there was a deviation of law.

The Chief Minister then rose from his seat and announced that he was accepting the demand and ordering a SIT probe while seeking permission from Speaker Gaddam Prasada Rao.

Mr. Harish Rao responded saying he did not ask for a probe but only asked the government to cancel the contract and accused the Chief Minister of trying to play to the galleries. However, Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy asked Mr. Harish Rao if any contract could be cancelled without inquiring into the deal. Only after an inquiry and a report can the government cancel the contract.