Andhra Pradesh: TTD orders inquiry over ₹54 crore shawl fraud
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has ordered a comprehensive inquiry by the state’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) into an alleged ₹54 crore fraud in supply of shawls between 2015 and 2025
First came the scandal over the ghee used in the famed Tirupati laddus; now, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) which manages the famous temple of Lord Venkateshwara at Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh’s Tirupati district, has ordered a comprehensive inquiry by the state’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) into an alleged ₹54 crore fraud in supply of shawls between 2015 and 2025, board officials said.
TTD trust board member G Bhanuprakash Reddy said the board, in its meeting on October 28, decided to request a detailed inquiry by ACB and take appropriate action against the suppliers of shawls. The board resolution was publicised this week.
“The decision was taken based on an internal inquiry conducted by the chief vigilance and security officer of TTD, which revealed that the contractors, in collusion with some officials, supplied 100% polyester shawls while billing them as the pure mulberry silk cloth specified in the tender documents,” Reddy added
A team of officials from the Union ministry of textiles also visited Tirumala last month, conducted an independent inquiry and submitted a confidential report to the board confirming the irregularities.
“What is worse, there were reports that the Melchat Vastram – a sacred silk cloth adorning the presiding deity after Abhishekam (anointment) – was also made of polyester during the previous regime. There is nothing more blasphemous than this. The issue will be discussed at the next TTD board meeting to be held on December 16,” Reddy said.
TTD board chairman B R Naidu told reporters after the meeting on October 28 that TTD had purchased shawls at highly inflated rates during the previous regime.
“A shawl that costs ₹350- ₹400 in the open market was bought for ₹1,334. Over the past four to five years, materials worth nearly ₹50 crore were procured. We have found significant corruption in the process. Now, the ACB will take it up,” he added.
The shawls were procured from VRS Export, Nagari and its affiliates Tirumala Fabrics, Nanna Cottages, and VM Raja Powerloom . In all, shawls worth ₹54.95 crore were purchased from VRS exports and its sister concerns between 2015 and 2025.
The Tirupati ghee adulteration controversy is a major ongoing scandal in which a Special Investigation Team (SIT), led by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), has uncovered that a Uttarakhand-based dairy supplied an estimated 68 lakh kg of adulterated ghee worth ₹250 crore to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) between 2019 and 2024.
This spurious ghee was used to prepare the sacred Tirupati temple laddus (prasadam), deeply affecting the religious sentiments of millions of devotees.
A Supreme Court-appointed five-member SIT, including members from the CBI and FSSAI, is probing the case. Several dairy owners, representatives, and TTD officials have been arrested. Recently, a senior TTD official was arrested for allegedly suppressing lab reports that confirmed the adulteration, allowing the supplies to continue.
