VIJAYAWADA: With milk prices constantly rising across the country, why has there been a huge fluctuation of up to 20% in ghee prices? This question was raised by the ruling TDP , which levelled fresh allegations of cartel formation during the YSRC regime. The TDP has alleged that during the five years of YSRC rule, only a handful of companies participated in reverse tendering and secured supply contracts from Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD). The TDP claims that at least Rs 150 crore changed hands in ghee procurement in the form of commissions.
The official spokesperson of TDP, Neelayapalem Vijay Kumar, on Saturday revealed the prices quoted by various suppliers of ghee over the last five years. He alleged that the ghee suppliers 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 L-1 (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 the 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, said Vijay Kumar. He questioned why no company or farmer cooperative dairies from the Telugu states or South India participated or why they withdrew from the 'reverse tendering'. He asked how companies from northern states supplied .