Govt glare on fund misuse by digital media wing of IT

Hyderabad: The State government is mulling to order a probe into the alleged misuse of funds released to the Digital Media wing, which was directly handled by the IT Department in the previous BRS government. Reports said that around Rs 15 crore has been released for the campaign of State-sponsored schemes, and these funds were also utilised for BRS party campaigns before the 2023 Assembly elections. The then IT minister, KT Rama Rao, was suspected to have given approval for the release of funds and diverted a portion of the amount for the party campaign.

Sources said that the functioning of digital media and the utilisation of funds during the 10-year BRS rule were under scanner. The entire wing of digital media was under the control of KTR, and every activity, including hiring persons to post messages on social media, was monitored closely by the BRS leader. “We are verifying the government orders for the release of funds to the digital media wing and the expenditure incurred in every financial year. The role of top officials in the digital media wing would also be probed if any evidence regarding the misuse of funds is found,” added sources.

The IT Department was already investigating to detect false bills, if any, submitted by the top authorities of the digital media to the government to get more funds. Sources said that the digital media played an important role in the BRS party campaign during the Assembly elections, and crores of rupees were spent on TV advertisements and songs with popular singers. “The government is suspecting the funds released from the State exchequer were misused during the election campaign for BRS,” highlighted the sources.