Tirupati: Yet another major scam has rocked the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), the trust managing the famed Tirumala temple in Andhra Pradesh, after an internal vigilance inquiry revealed that pure silk scarves delivered between 2015 and 2025 were 100% synthetic.
These scarves are given by the temple to donors and dignitaries during VIP darshan during the Vedasirvachanam at the Ranganayakula Mandapam inside the Tirumala temple.
Temple rules specify that the scarves must be woven entirely from pure mulberry silk, using 20/22 denier thread in both warp and weft, with a minimum thickness of 31.5 denier. Each item must have the inscription “Om Namo Venkatesaya” in Sanskrit on one side and “Om Namo Venkatesaya” in Telugu on the other, along with symbols of the Shanku, Chakra, and Namam.
The internal probe, which was initiated after the TTD board under Chairman B R Naidu raised concerns, revealed the extent of the alleged fraud. A contractor allegedly supplied 100% polyester shawls while billing them as the pure mulberry silk products as specified in the tender documents, an NDTV report says.
The scam is worth over Rs 54 crore, it has been ascertained.
“A scarf that costs about Rs 350 was being billed at Rs 1,300. The total supplies would amount to more than Rs 50 crore. We have asked for an ACB (Anti-Corruption Bureau) probe,” Naidu has been quoted as saying.
Samples of the shawls were sent for scientific analysis to two laboratories, including one under the Central Silk Board (CSB). Both tests confirmed that the material was polyester, a clear violation of the tender specifications.
It has also been noted by vigilance officers that the mandatory silk hologram, intended to authenticate genuine silk products, was missing from the supplied samples. A single firm, and its sister concerns, was reportedly responsible for the bulk of the cloth supply to the TTD during this period.
The TTD Trust Board has cancelled all existing tenders with the firm and has referred the entire matter to the State Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) for a comprehensive criminal investigation.
This scam marks the latest in a series of procurement and theft controversies that have plagued the TTD in recent times, following highly publicised issues related to the alleged adulteration of ghee used in the sacred laddu prasadam and the Parakamani (hundi money counting) theft case.
