GHMC engineers accused of 30% commission scam
HYDERABAD: Corruption among a section of engineers in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has come under sharp focus, with allegations of large-scale bribery, manipulation of rules and irregular transfers.
Rules bent, favoured firms rewarded
Officials allegedly altered norms to suit select contractors, awarded works irrespective of bid value, and demanded commissions ranging from 2% to 5%. In some cases, contractors were reportedly asked to pay crores of rupees for postings at preferred locations.
Some engineers are accused of floating contract agencies in the names of benamis and simultaneously overseeing official duties and contract works. Transfers, too, are alleged to have become a source of illegal income, with postings negotiated for money.
The issue resurfaced after the Anti-Corruption Bureau caught Kukatpally zonal superintendent engineer Chinna Reddy red-handed while allegedly accepting a ₹15 lakh bribe. The incident has triggered fresh debate within the civic body over entrenched corruption.
Officials caught in recent cases
March 3, 2025: Deputy executive engineer Dasarath Mudiraj was caught allegedly accepting a ₹10,000 bribe.
June 18, 2025: Assistant executive engineer B Swaroop was caught allegedly taking ₹1.20 lakh within Kapra Circle limits.
June 23, 2025: Assistant executive engineer T Manisha was caught allegedly accepting ₹15,000 from a contractor at the Golnaka ward office.
June 20, 2025: Searches were conducted and deputy executive engineer Divyajyothi was arrested in a disproportionate assets case following a complaint by her husband.
Deputy executive engineer P Mahalakshmi was caught allegedly accepting ₹20,000 through sanitary field assistant Vijay Kumar.
Assets worth hundreds of crores
From assistant executive engineers to engineers-in-chief, several GHMC officials have been caught by the Anti-Corruption Bureau over the years. During the undivided Andhra Pradesh period, raids at the residences of Panduranga Rao, then engineer-in-chief of GHMC, revealed assets worth hundreds of crores in a disproportionate assets case after state bifurcation.
There are now allegations that some engineering officials currently working in the civic body have amassed assets running into hundreds of crores through illegal means. Chinna Reddy is among those named in such allegations.
