TTD Chairman rubbishes Bhumana’s claim on supply of ghee by Indapur Dairy

After locking horns over the issue of alleged use of adulterated ghee for making the Tirumala laddu prasadam, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Chairman B.R. Naidu and his predecessor and YSRCP leader Bhumana Karunakar Reddy have engaged in a war of words yet again, this time over supply of ghee by Maharashtra-based Indapur Dairy.

While Mr. Karunakar Reddy was the first to raise the issue of Indapur Dairy bagging the contract to supply ghee to the TTD every time during the TDP regime, Mr. B.R. Naidu brushed aside the charge, pointing out that the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) always remained the TTD’s biggest and dependable ghee supplier, by meeting a whopping 62% of its total requirement.

Mr. Naidu released ghee procurement data pertaining to 2024-2025, when seven reputed national dairies had participated in the seven rounds of tenders after the revised ghee procurement guidelines came into effect.

The KMF had bagged four of the seven tenders to supply 60 lakh kg, but reportedly expressed its ability to supply only 10 lakh kg out of the 20 lakh kg in the tender invited last October.

The KMF had supplied 50 lakh kg, accounting for 62% of the total ghee procured during 2024-2025. Indapur Dairy qualified only in two of the seven tenders and got orders only for 10 lakh kg, he explained, while rubbishing the claim that Indapur Dairy was participating in TTD tenders only during the TDP’s regime.

“Indapur took part in ghee tender process for six times during 2019-2025 under the YSRCP regime also,” he pointed out.

Meanwhile, Mr. Karunakar Reddy wondered how the TTD could declare Indapur Dairy as L2 (second lowest bidder) in a tender call where the company had not even participated.

Speaking to the media, he quoted the TTD Board resolution pertaining to October 2025, wherein it was mentioned that only KMF had participated in the tender for supply of 20 lakh kg of cow ghee.

Mr. Karunakar Reddy also flayed the present board for relaxing the clause pertaining to the geographical distance of the national dairies from Tirupati, from the earlier 1,500 km to 800 km.

“The recommendation was made by external experts who stand accused by the SIT in the ghee adulteration case, but the TTD has no problem in implementing their advice,” he remarked.