NGO claims financial irregularities, tender rigging in HRDCL

The forum said that even with GHMC and R and B Department handling road maintenance, the Telangana government constituted another agency, HRDCL, for similar purposes.

Hyderabad: City-based non-profit Forum for Good Governance has raised allegations of financial irregularities, tender manipulation, and lack of transparency under the Hyderabad Road Development Corporation Limited (HRDCL).

Citing the GHMC Act, 1955, forum president M. Padmanabha Reddy, in a formal letter to Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, said all roads or streets within the city limits, or those which may become public streets, fall within the jurisdiction of the Corporation, meaning GHMC has the powers and responsibility to construct and maintain roads within its jurisdiction. He also noted that the Roads and Buildings (R&B) Department has a road network of approximately 600 kilometres within Hyderabad.

The forum said that even with these two agencies handling road maintenance, the Telangana government constituted another agency, HRDCL, for similar purposes.

“The HRDCL was constituted as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) vide GO No. 106, dated March 11, 2017,” Reddy said, adding that the agency has been undertaking projects by obtaining loans from financial institutions.

‘HRDCL undertaking works that should be carried out by GHMC’

He alleged that the HRDCL’s functioning itself lacks transparency. The loans obtained by the agency, expenditure incurred, and works undertaken are neither reflected in the State Budget nor discussed in the Legislative Assembly, the forum of Good Governance said. Forum president Reddy said such actions have raised apprehensions that there is scope for large-scale irregularities and corruption.

“It is learnt that since its establishment in 2017, HRDCL has obtained loans close to Rs 5,000 crore. At the same time, HRDCL is undertaking works which, in fact, should be carried out by GHMC,” the letter read.

In 2025, HRDCL secured a Rs 1,500-crore loan and split its road projects into three stages. The first stage saw contractors offering to do the work at prices about 7 per cent below the government’s estimated cost. In the second stage, 13 smaller projects ranging from Rs 2 crore to Rs 42 crore attracted many small contractors, creating strong competition that drove bid prices down by 4 to 18 per cent below estimated costs.

Claims of tender manipulations

“However, for reasons known only to HRDCL, these tenders were cancelled, and the 13 works were clubbed into two packages,” the letter said.

Reddy said tender conditions were also modified and fresh tenders were invited, alleging that the process was designed to favour “certain large contractors”.

The forum claimed that rebidding of projects cut down the competition and forced the government to pay about 4 per cent to 5 per cent more than its original budget across all packages.

Describing it as a serious matter, the Forum for Good Governance requested the CM to order a comprehensive inquiry through the Director General, Vigilance and Enforcement.