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A big scam has come to light in the purchase of silk clothes in Tirupati Devasthanam. Investigation revealed that the supplier sent polyester fabric instead of real silk for 10 years and billed an item worth Rs 100 for Rs 1,400.
Tirupati The string of scams is increasing in Devasthanams. The investigation into the adulteration of laddus was still going on when another big scam came to light – this time it was about the purchase of silk clothes used in the temple.
Vigilance investigation revealed that the temple administration (TTD) purchased clothes which were billed many times more than the actual price. The team found that clothes which were available in the market for less than Rs 100, were shown to be supplied to TTD at rates up to Rs 1,400. When irregularities were found in both price and quality, the investigation was carried forward.
The most shocking thing that came out in the investigation was that the supplier VRS Exports kept sending polyester cloth instead of real silk. Lab test and internal investigation made it clear that the cloth was not silk at all. And all this continued not for one or two years, but from 2015 to 2025. That is, for the whole ten years, the clothes used in the important puja of the temple were adulterated and no one even got a clue. This in itself indicates a serious flaw in the system.
TTD is believed to have suffered a loss of more than Rs 54 crore due to this game going on for such a long time. The matter was so big that in the October board meeting, it was decided to hand it over directly to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). Now ACB will investigate how the tenders were passed, who gave so much relaxation to the supplier and how such a huge lapse took place in monitoring.
After this entire incident, questions are being raised on the procurement system of TTD. People are asking what is the condition of transparency and accountability in such a big organization, if even a simple fraud has not been detected for so many years.
