Rs 54 Crore Scam at Tirupati Temple, Contractor Sold Polyester as Mulberry Silk Shawls

Yet another revelation of multi-crore scam has been unearthed at the Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh. An internal probe was initiated after the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) board chairman BR Naidu raised concerns about the handling of the fund which lead to the revelation of the scam.  According to reports, contractors supplied 100% polyester stoles in place of mulkberry silk stoles for a period from 2015 to 2025. The polyester stoles are worth about Rs. 300, but the trust was billed Rs. 1300 for each shawl amounting to a massive Rs. 54 crore scam. Samples of the shawls were sent to two different laborataries which confirmed that the material used was polyester which violates the tenets of the tender. The mandatory hologram confirming the authenticity of silk products was also notably absent from the shawls.

The stoles are not only given to the major VIP donors, but are also used in important temple rituals like Vedasirvachanam, and thus it is mandatory to use pure mulberry silk for the same. 

After the scame came to light, TTD has promptly canceled the tender of the firm and its sister concerns who were responsible for the supplies and has requested the intervention of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) into the matter.

The shawl scam comes in the wake of several other incidents of thefts that has put the spotlight on the TTD. Recently. the temple has been in the news for reports of alleged adulteration in the ghee which is used to make laddu which is the holy prasadam that is distributed to thousands of devotees. Earlier, the trust was also embroiled in the Parakamani theft case which revealed that contributions of the devotees to the temple where stolen from the Srivari Hundi. 

These scandals have put enormous pressure on the management and oversight bodies of one of the world's wealthiest religious groups. This highlights broader issues in vendor vetting and integrity throughout the temple's supply chain.

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