BRS working president KT Rama Rao has demanded a probe by a sitting judge into what he called an alleged ₹10,000-crore Singareni scam, proposed foreign coal purchases and other irregularities under the Telangana government, intensifying a political dispute over the state’s coal, electricity and water management.
Speaking at a meeting in the Narsampet constituency at Telangana Bhavan on Friday, Rama Rao challenged Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to order an inquiry into the allegations. He said the chief minister should initiate a sitting-judge investigation instead of asking the opposition to submit a written request.
“Revanth Reddy says he will order an inquiry if we write to him. If he has the courage, let him order a sitting judge’s inquiry into our allegations,” Rama Rao said, according to the report.
Rama Rao alleged that Singareni coal costs about ₹3,800 per tonne, while imported coal could cost between ₹10,000 and ₹12,000 per tonne. He accused the Congress government of reducing coal production and pursuing proposed imports from Australia despite the availability of domestic coal. The report does not include a response from the state government or an independent confirmation of these allegations.
The BRS leader also alleged that around ₹60,000 crore in dues to Singareni remained pending, while the mining company was being blamed for shortages. He linked the issue to wider concerns about electricity availability, claiming that the government was creating supply constraints before purchasing power and coal at higher prices.
Rama Rao contrasted the alleged proposed electricity purchase price of ₹15 per unit with the Congress’s earlier criticism of a Chhattisgarh power purchase agreement priced at ₹3.90 per unit. He said reliable power was essential for Telangana’s approximately 30 lakh agricultural pump sets, irrigation projects and industrial consumers. He also alleged that power cuts had returned to the state after the previous BRS government’s claim of providing 24-hour electricity.
The political dispute also extended to irrigation. Rama Rao alleged that about 1,000 TMC of water had been allowed to flow downstream without being lifted from the Kannepalli pump house, leaving crops dry and worsening drinking-water and irrigation shortages. He criticised the government’s alleged failure to utilise water available through the Kaleshwaram project.
Comparing Telangana’s water use with projects in Andhra Pradesh, he referred to water being taken to Kuppam, around 700 kilometres away, and approximately 400 TMC being lifted through the Pattiseema project. He questioned why water could not be taken to Mahabubnagar, around 70 kilometres away, and argued that Kaleshwaram and the Palamuru-Rangareddy project could have strengthened irrigation in the state.
Rama Rao described the situation as a politically created drought rather than a natural one and urged the government to set aside political differences and address farmers’ difficulties. The immediate next step sought by the BRS is a formal judicial inquiry by a sitting judge into the alleged Singareni, coal procurement and solar power irregularities.
