Crime Bureau, Tolivelugu: ‘Mana Uru-Mana Badi’, a 7,289 crore rupees worth project. Whenever the TRS government introduces a government scheme, we can make it clear that there won’t be minute financial regularities in the application of the scheme, but it doesn’t mean that the policies get implemented with no arrears, the ground reality of the treatment of funds is systematic looting. The giant entities and politicians try grabbing hefty sums through benamis and will leave no stone unturned in turning the black money into white. We are already aware of the fact that the tenders are not offered to the small, and middle-class enterprises. The government keeps setting rules and regulations that are groomed in favor of the big entities, eventually blocking the smaller companies from even trying to try for the tenders. The norm that regulated access to the smaller enterprises is having service centers in at least 15 areas. Rarely, however, does one or two companies qualify for this.
Another rule is that they must have worked to the tune of Rs 439 crore in the past to repair and paint school buildings to be eligible. In general, we are aware of the fact that most of the companies that do civil work, will not do paintwork and vice versa. Such litigations are subject to the conditions laid down by the government for all the litigations required to reach the intended recipients. With that, they will automatically get the tender for their benefactors.
Megha faking it:
Megha is projecting itself as a company that doesn’t have to participate in these tenders to do the projects, indicating that they are way bigger than these things. They are making the Micro, small and medium enterprises believe the same thing. Without even realizing it, the smaller entities are often having conflicts among themselves while Megha is leading the story behind the scenes. Then-President Chandrababu filed a petition in the High Court without taking complete information, as there were lots of loopholes in the whole process.
Now they have formed another association and are struggling to get the 20 percent tenders they deserve. The Central Government had in 2004 sought to give MSMEs the opportunity to participate in local tenders through a special GEO. But it is not being implemented in the state of Telangana. More than half of the companies with COVID are already facing heavy debt and closure. They are becoming completely fragmented in the shadow of corporate companies where they should be given opportunities.
Confused with Megha’s plan?
Megha’s deals are not quite visible to anyone at first. It is only after seeing them take over the project, many just stare in surprise. Whether it’s an electric bus maker, an oil extraction rig, or ultimately a weapon manufacturer, it all comes down to eligibility, as per the tweaked regulations and norms instilled by the government. Megha simply takes over the old companies and participates in tenders. It is quite common to see Megha win any contract in the field even when many of us assume that they are not in this field, as they become part of the project by acquiring some company that is in the field. It is believed that Megha is now making moves to enter ‘mana ooru mana badi’ as well. In order to help Megha be part of this scheme, the state government also pushed the tender dates to another 10 days, when instead the tenders were meant to be completed on May 6th.
In the past?
They teamed up with the popular real estate mafia gang personality Goldstone Prasad, for a company to make electric buses. They took over an almost-bankrupt Italian company called ‘Drill McSpa’ and moved into an oil rig manufacturing company. Although they are a company that makes cell phone towers, they took over a telecom company and qualified to manufacture weapons. After that, they occupied land as big as 7 acres. With this speed, they are all set to win any kind of tenders in the state by acquiring any such company that would benefit them and is on the verge of bankruptcy.
The officers who say Yes to everything:
A sub-committee of ministers has been set up for the ‘Mana Uru Mana Badi’ scheme. Five ministers are busy with regular review meetings. Committees are set up everywhere. But they are planning to delay the tenders further just to make Megha company part of the tender event. For that, a director in Megha is keeping an officer in the education department under control and leads the commotion. There are rumors in the department that it has become her job to listen and do what the director says. Announcements were made calling for tenders on April 21st. Bidding applications are due on May 6. Four tenders were announced. 219 crore for the provision of child benches. 206 crore for other items and teachers’ furniture to be provided. Manufacture of green boards with 72 crores. Tenders have been called for repairs and paintings worth Rs 439 crore. However, it seems that the application time is extended to another ten days. This is only for 9123 schools in the first phase. The Telangana government is all set to put a total of Rs 7289 crore project in the corporate pocket in this process. Strict regulations were brought in favor of it. It remains an open secret who is behind the mega-deal, who will win the tender to grab the thousands of crores of rupees from the government treasury.
