Central to the BRS’ charge is the contention that NTPC is offering 800 MW to Telangana at ₹4.12 per unit, with no state investment needed.
Published Dec 02, 2025 | 6:24 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 02, 2025 | 6:24 PM
Senior BRS leader T Harish Rao, addressing a press conference at Telangana Bhavan on Monday.
Synopsis: The BRS has accused the Congress government in Telangana of imposing an ₹82,000 crore burden on the state by favouring costly thermal power projects over cheaper electricity available from the National Thermal Power Corporation. Senior BRS leader T Harish Rao alleged widespread corruption, and questioned recent appointments in the energy department.
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has launched a sharp attack on the Congress government in Telangana, accusing it of pushing the state into an “₹82,000 crore burden” by opting for expensive new thermal power projects instead of availing cheaper power being offered by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).
Senior BRS leader T Harish Rao, addressing a press conference at Telangana Bhavan on Monday, 1 December, alleged that corruption, favouritism and the appointment of “non-qualified Andhra officers” were driving key decisions in the power sector.
The allegations came a day after Ministers Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and D Sridhar Babu rebutted the BRS’ earlier charge of a “₹50,000 crore scam” in the proposed thermal projects. Harish Rao said the ministers “evaded every substantive question” and resorted to “personal attacks” instead of providing clarity.
Responding to Vikramarka calling him “unfit for politics,” Harish Rao said: “I am unfit only because I do not know how to take 20 to 30 percent commissions like you.” He accused the Congress of running a “commission-driven administration” and claimed files in the energy department were being cleared only after “payments per MW.”
He said that during the KCR government, “contractors never staged dharnas outside the secretariat demanding pending bills,” and alleged that the present administration had pushed even village sarpanches and small contractors into street protests.
Central to the BRS’ charge is the contention that NTPC is offering 800 MW to Telangana at ₹4.12 per unit, with no state investment needed.
According to Harish Rao, the Congress government, instead of signing power purchase agreements (PPAs) for the remaining 2,400 MW available under the Reorganisation Act, is pursuing high-cost thermal projects at Ramagundam, Palvoncha and Makthal.
He said the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the proposed 800 MW Ramagundam plant prepared by GENCO estimated the cost at ₹13.62 crore per MW, “likely to escalate to ₹15 to 16 crore per MW,” with a generation cost of ₹7.70 per unit.
A single plant, he said, would generate a daily burden of ₹9 crore at a ₹3 per unit differential, translating to ₹3,285 crore per year and ₹82,000 crore over 25 years. “Governments come and go, but people will pay this burden for decades,” he said.
Harish Rao questioned why the state would borrow heavily—75 percent of the project cost—when ready power from NTPC was available “at half the price and within one year.”
He further accused the Congress government of abandoning its own green energy commitments. Harish Rao said that while the Congress had promised to reduce thermal dependency from 60 percent to 40 percent by 2026 and had released a green energy roadmap for 20,000 MW by 2030, it had now “taken a U-turn” in favour of thermal projects “for commissions.”
He alleged that under the green energy application process, the government collected ₹600 crore from applicants at ₹25,000 each, but “not even a single megawatt” had been approved. The Chief Electrical Inspector’s office, he said, was allegedly demanding ₹20 to 30 lakh per MW in bribes, leading to files being stalled.
A significant part of the BRS’ attack centred on the appointment of officers from Andhra Pradesh to key energy department posts. Harish Rao described this as an “insult to the spirit of the Telangana movement” and claimed that qualified Telangana engineers were being sidelined.
Among the appointments questioned were:
“Are Telangana officers unfit?” Harish Rao asked, alleging that the government was “handing over the entire power sector to Andhra officers.”
The BRS also accused Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy of violating the model code of conduct by participating in public inauguration programmes during the election period. Citing recent foundation stone laying events, the party questioned why the State Election Commission had not taken action.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
