ORR lease: Defiant Revanth Reddy demands withdrawal of legal notice

HYDERABAD: Telangana Congress Pradesh Committee (TPCC) President Revanth Reddy on Tuesday warned IAS officer Arvind Kumar with civil and criminal punishment if he did not withdraw the legal notices sent to him over his accusations on the ORR leasecase on May 25.

Revanth, through his lawyer, responded to Arvind Kumar's legal notices over the ORR lease issue on Tuesday. “Arvind Kumar serves as the Municipal Department's Principal Secretary as well as the Metropolitan Commissioner, among other important positions, and service norms regulate how an IAS officer should act and accomplish their obligations,” Revanth Reddy stated in his written response.

Revanth Reddy claimed that Arvind Kumar was functioning like a politician without following the laws and without providing the requested information.

According to the TPCC president, an IAS officer must behave neutrally and without political motivations under the All India Services (Conduct) Rules 1968. However, Arvind Kumar is working as if he represents the ruling party, he alleged.

"Half of the Nehru ORR falls under the jurisdiction of the Malkajgiri Parliamentary constituency, which I represent as an MP. Despite the possibility of receiving more money, the government's income has been jeopardised and the ORR toll collection tender has been given to IRB for a fee of Rs 7,380 crores for a term of 30 years," said Revanth Reddy.

"Moreover, all the rules were arbitrarily violated in the course of awarding the IRB tender. The HMDA Master Plan will expire in 2031. If it is leased for 30 years and the master plan changes after 2031, it will pose complications. Furthermore, no road in the country has been given for more than 15-20 years. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has proposed that the tender time be reduced to 15-20 years rather than 30 years," Revanth Reddy added.

"The tender was fixed for 30 years without even considering the objections of NHAI

Contrary to the norms, a retired officer was appointed in place of the IAS officer, and the ORR tender process was completed. HMDA was replaced by (Hyderabad Growth Corridor Limited(HGCL) while the tender procedure was ongoing. Furthermore, there was no answer from Arvind Kumar, whom we repeatedly asked to reveal the base price for the ORR tender, " claimed the TPCC President.

"The traffic on ORR, the report of the assessors evaluating the value of the tender is also not being placed in the public domain. All of this adds to the suspicions that something went wrong during the tendering process. As a public representative, it is my job to reply to the relevant topic in this context. I was stopped and arrested while attempting to obtain the necessary information through RTI, despite the fact that I am a public representative, " said Revanth Reddy.

"Without answering the information requested, Arvind Kumar is launching a counter-attack like a politician. All of the claims in the legal notice against him are untrue," Revanth Reddy alleged.

"Arvind Kumar's legal notification violates the spirit of democracy. He claimed that the notification was issued to prevent the ruling party's wrongdoing from being exposed," Revanth Reddy added. The TPCC chief also made it clear that he would not be deterred by the legal notice and vowed to continue his fight on behalf of the people.