Vijayawada: When milk prices are rising across the country, why has there been a huge fluctuation of nearly 20 percent in ghee prices ? TDP , which is a key constituent of the ruling NDA alliance in the state, raised this question while levelling fresh allegations of cartel formation during the previous YSRCP regime. TDP spokesperson Neelayapalem Vijay Kumar alleged that during the five years of YSRCP rule, only a handful of companies participated in reverse tendering and secured supply contracts from Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams ( TTD ). He further claimed that at least 150 crore changed hands in ghee procurement in the form of commissions.
Vijay Kumar, who on Saturday revealed the prices quoted by various ghee suppliers over the last five years, alleged that they formed a cartel with the active connivance of those at the helm in TTD, and tenders were allotted in a circulatory manner. He stated that the company which emerged as L1 (lowest bidder) quoted a higher price in the subsequent tender and stood in second place, while the company in second place secured the tender by quoting a lower price. All tenders were allotted in a similar fashion over the last five years to a handful of companies, mostly from the states of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, he alleged, while wondering why no company or farmer cooperative dairies from the Telugu states or South India participated or withdrew from the so-called ‘reverse tendering'.
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