Ghee adulteration: Panel blames ex-TTD officials

THe single-member citizens committee probing lapses in the procurance of ghee to do Tirumala laddu prasadam betwixt 2019 and 2024 has held former Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) executive director officer AV Dharma Reddy chiefly responsible, people aware of the matter said on Saturday.The panel comprises retired Andhra Pradesh chief secretary Dinesh Kumar. It was formed by chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on February 20 and submitted its report to the state government on April 30. The report was made public on Saturday.The committee identified Dharma Reddy as the main culprit responsible for major lapses, including dilution of tender norms, failure to act against the suppliers on confirmed adulteration, and allowing continued engagement of questionable suppliers.It also held former executive officer Anil Kumar Singhal for allegedly approving relaxation of tender conditions without due diligence. Former MLA Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy, former TTD chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy (both special invitees), M Ramulu and chief accounts officer O Balaji were among those named as responsible for key decisions that allegedly weakened safeguards against manipulation.“Adulterated ghee was allowed into the system despite clear scientific evidence,” the report said.It cited an August 3, 2022 report by the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) that detected ß- Sitosterol, a marker of vegetable oil adulteration, in all tested samples. “Despite this, the report was not acted upon, suppliers were not blacklisted, and procurement continued unchecked,” the committee said.The report noted that the procurement framework itself incentivised adulteration. Excessive tendencies to select the lowest bidder led to the acceptance of abnormally low bids that ruled out supply of pure ghee. In multiple cases, post-auction price reductions were allowed through informal communication, which directly violates tender norms.“Even after ß-Sitosterol testing became compulsory from July 1, 2022, the TTD failed to enforce it in its procurement process,” the report said.As a result of these lapses, over 7 million kilograms of ghee were procured without mandatory testing. “Ghee consignments were accepted and used for preparing the laddu even before laboratory test results were received. It means adulterated ghee was consumed by lakhs of devotees,” said the report.It alleged that an organised adulteration network— comprising a key supplier manufacturing adulterated ghee, and supply routes maintained by intermediaries despite disqualification— was in place, and recommended strict disciplinary action against all officials deemed responsible. In addition, it calls for all erring suppliers to be blacklisted and penalised.“A complete overhaul of the procurement system, including elimination of over-reliance on L-1 bidding and introduction of stronger quality-based evaluation mechanisms, should be introduced. There is an urgent need to establish robust, real-time in-house testing infrastructure to detect adulteration before acceptance of consignments,” the report said.It also recommended strict enforcement of food safety standards, removal of conflicts of interest in committee structures, and introduction of independent oversight mechanisms to ensure transparency and accountability.“This was not merely a lapse, but a systemic breakdown that enabled adulterated ghee to enter and be used in one of the most sacred institutions, severely impacting public trust and religious sentiments at a massive scale.”