Metro India News | Hyderabad 

Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma has given the go-ahead to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to take legal action against former minister K. T. Rama Rao (KTR) in connection with the Formula-E car race case, which involves suspected misappropriation of Rs 54.88 crore in public funds. However, the police officials have not yet made an official statement regarding this matter.

This case stems from a complaint lodged on October 18, 2024, by M. Dana Kishore, Principal Secretary of the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) department. In the complaint, he accused the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) of causing a loss of Rs 54.88 crore to the state treasury by making payments to Formula-E Operations Limited (FEO) without obtaining the necessary approvals from the cabinet or the finance department.

On December 19, 2024, the ACB initiated a case against K.T. Rama Rao, the former Special Chief Secretary MA&UD Arvind Kumar and B. L. N. Reddy, the former Chief Engineer of HMDA. According to the FIR, a total of Rs 45.7 crore was transferred to FEO between September and October 2023, despite the termination of the company's agreement with the Telangana government. 

The ACB also pointed out that a tripartite agreement made in October 2022 between the Telangana government, FEO and event sponsor Ace Nxt Gen Pvt. Ltd. had limited the government’s financial liability. However, conflicts between FEO and Ace Nxt Gen reportedly prompted the state to take on financial obligations without regulatory authorization, ultimately leading to considerable financial losses.

KT Rama Rao faces allegations of improperly utilizing government funds and misusing his power during his tenure as the Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development.