FGG seeks Vigilance probe into HRDCL loans and road tender process

The Forum for Good Governance (FGG) has approached Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy seeking a comprehensive inquiry by the Director General, Vigilance & Enforcement, into the working of the Hyderabad Road Development Corporation Limited (HRDCL). The representation, submitted on Thursday by FGG president M. Padmanabha Reddy, alleges a lack of transparency in the corporation's financial affairs and irregularities in the tendering of road works.

The forum states that HRDCL has raised loans of close to ₹5,000 crore since it was constituted in 2017, and contends that the details of these borrowings, the expenditure incurred and the works taken up are not reflected in the State Budget or discussed in the Legislative Assembly.

Questioning the need for a separate agency, the FGG points out that under the GHMC Act, 1955, roads and streets within city limits fall under the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, while the Roads & Buildings Department maintains a network of about 600 km within Hyderabad. HRDCL was created as a special purpose vehicle through a government order on March 11, 2017, for the construction and maintenance of roads in the city. The forum alleges that the corporation has been executing works that ought to have been handled by the GHMC, and that its expenditure over the past eight years has not been audited by the Accountant General.

The representation also flags the tendering of works linked to a ₹1,500-crore loan obtained by HRDCL in 2025. In the first stage, contractors are said to have quoted prices roughly 7% below the estimated contract value. In the second stage, tenders were invited for 13 works with individual estimates ranging from ₹2 crore to ₹42 crore; several small contractors took part and the quotes were 4% to 18% below the estimates.

According to the FGG, HRDCL then cancelled these tenders, combined the 13 works into larger packages and altered the tender conditions before calling for fresh bids — a change the forum says appears to favour certain large contractors. In Package-I, works estimated at ₹487.74 crore drew a quote of ₹511.45 crore, about 4.86% above the estimate. In Package-II, works estimated at ₹571.42 crore attracted a bid of ₹594.22 crore, roughly 3.99% higher. Only two contractors are said to have participated in the re-tendering, with bids about 4% above the estimated values.

A preliminary examination, the forum says, indicates a possible loss of about ₹300 crore to the government. It has asked the Chief Minister to order a probe into how HRDCL obtained and used its loans, its financial and administrative activities, the cancellation of the earlier tenders, the clubbing of the 13 works, the changes to tender conditions and the reasons the fresh bids exceeded the estimates. The FGG has also sought an assessment of any financial loss caused to the government and action against those found responsible.