Revanth govt puts Formula E race probe on fast-track

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, known for his proactiveness in promoting sports, has decided to speed up the probe into the alleged multi-crore Formula E race scam to bring transparency in the sports arena.

The Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) department lodged a fresh complaint with the ACB and asked them to speed up the investigation into the Formula E race. It is alleged that the previous BRS government misused Rs 200 crore sanctioned for conducting E Race in Hyderabad without any approval from the Cabinet. BRS working president K T Rama Rao was the MAUD Minister during that time. It may be recalled that the statement of the former MAUD secretary Arvind Kumar was recorded by probe agencies recently. According to officials, Rs 50 crore was released from the state exchequer without any approval by the cabinet and the money was released to the agency which organized the E Race which was against the rules. Permission of the Finance Department is a must before any payment is made but, in this case, it was ignored. The event was held in and around Hussain Sagar in 2023.

Promoter GreenKo spent Rs 150 crore and Hyderabad Racing Limited Rs 30 crore. HMDA had spent Rs.20 crore to develop the road track and other infrastructure, officials said.

The MAUD officials also signed an agreement with Formula-E Operation (FEO) in October 2023 to hold it once again (Session-10) on February 10, 2024. For this HMDA has paid Rs 55 crore to the FEO. But the event was cancelled.

Soon after the Congress government came to power in December last year, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy ordered an ACB probe into the misuse of public money in organizing the car race and it was revealed that Rs 50 crore was released on the instructions of the then MAUD Minister K T Rama Rao. Based on the probe reports, necessary action as per law would be initiated, the Chief Minister said.