Tirupati laddu ghee adulteration: SIT flags violations, irregularities, misconduct

A special investigation team (SIT) probing the supply of ghee used for the preparation of laddu prasadam at Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati has reported serious irregularities, rule violations, and alleged deliberate misconduct by senior officials of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) between 2019 and 2024, stated a report. 

According to a report in The Indian Express, in an 11-page letter to the Andhra Pradesh government, the SIT outlined how changes to the ghee procurement process compromised quality and accountability, resulting in adulterated ghee being served to millions of devotees. The SIT recommended stringent action against those responsible and called for reinstatement of strict procurement standards to restore public trust, it said.

As per the SIT, in 2020 the TTD Purchase Committee, which included C Bhaskar Reddy and then TTD chairman B Karunakar Reddy as special invitees, recommended relaxations to the ghee tender conditions without scientific study, expert consultation, or justification. These relaxations were approved by the TTD Board during the YSRCP government, despite tender norms having been strengthened in August 2019,the report added. As a result, ineligible private dairies were allowed to participate, undermining established cooperative dairies.

The SIT noted several changes to eligibility criteria, such as reducing the annual turnover requirement from Rs 250 crore to Rs 150 crore, lowering mandatory dairy experience from three years to one year, removing the requirement to procure four lakh litres of milk daily, and decreasing the milk fat extraction capacity from 12 to 8 tonnes per day.

Senior TTD officials – financial adviser and chief accounts officer O Balaji, additional executive officer A V Dharmareddy, and then executive officer Anil Kumar Singhal – were named by the SIT as responsible for approving and implementing these relaxations in violation of established procurement safeguards. The SIT held them accountable for decisions that enabled unqualified suppliers to secure contracts.

Following complaints about ghee quality, samples were sent to the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) in May 2022. CFTRI confirmed adulteration in ghee supplied by Vyshnavi Dairy and Bhole Baba Dairy. Despite this, the SIT said the reports were suppressed and ignored during the YSRCP regime, and no action was taken against suppliers or responsible officials.

The SIT concluded that the procurement of adulterated ghee compromised the quality of the laddu prasadam at Tirumala Temple and hurt the sentiments and faith of devotees. The investigation established that this was not an accidental lapse, but the outcome of deliberate administrative decisions and misuse of authority during the previous government.

A statement from Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s office said the CM has acted on the SIT findings by transferring the former TTD executive officer Anil Kumar Singhal and initiating action to ensure accountability.