Overview
- Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, which manages the temple laddus, received a government-appointed report on Saturday that found systemic failures in ghee procurement enabled adulterated ghee to be used in the prasadam.
- A CFTRI lab test dated August 3, 2022 detected β-sitosterol, a marker of vegetable oil, in all samples, yet TTD did not blacklist the suppliers and accepted consignments before test results were cleared, risking the integrity of the offering served to pilgrims.
- The committee said over 70 lakh kilograms of ghee were bought without mandatory checks as tender rules were diluted, lowest-price bidding was overused, and post-auction price cuts were allowed in violation of norms.
- Former executive officer A V Dharma Reddy was held primarily responsible, with several officials and committee members also named, and the panel urged disciplinary action, supplier blacklisting, legal steps, and in-house rapid testing with less reliance on the lowest bid.
- YSRCP leaders and some accused officials called the findings politically driven, while the report follows a Supreme Court–monitored SIT that filed a chargesheet on January 23, setting up parallel tracks for possible administrative and legal action.