The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) is looking into a case involving KT Rama Rao (KTR), the working president of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and former Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA & UD). The case concerns an alleged misuse of funds in organizing the Formula E-racing event in Hyderabad last year. Before filing charges against KTR and other officials, the ACB is seeking legal advice and might take some additional time to proceed.
In their preliminary investigation, the ACB found that Rs 55 crore were misused. These funds were supposedly released to the event management agency without getting approval from the State Finance Department. Arvind Kumar, a former secretary in the MA & UD department, admitted that the funds were released based on instructions from KTR, who was the minister at the time. The funds were used for organizing the racing event in Hyderabad. After the Congress party came to power, they canceled the agreement between the government and the racing agency.
Recently, a fresh complaint was filed by the MA & UD department, prompting the ACB to speed up its investigation into the Rs 200 crore project spent on hosting the E-racing event.
The investigation revealed that the previous government gave approval to build a special track for the race, which took place in February last year near Hussain Sagar. Greenco spent Rs 150 crore on the event, Hyderabad Racing Limited contributed Rs 30 crore, and the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) spent Rs 20 crore on the road track and other infrastructure. In October 2023, the MA & UD department signed another agreement with Formula-E Operation (FEO) to host another race on February 10, 2024. For this, HMDA paid Rs 55 crore to FEO.
Officials from the ACB have collected evidence that could implicate KTR in the alleged scam. They believe that the intensified investigation will help gather more details to confirm his involvement. Once the investigation is complete, the government is expected to file cases against KTR.
