Telangana high court upholds egg supply tender, fines contractor Rs 1 lakh

Hyderabad: The Telangana high court on Friday upheld the state govt's tender process for the supply of eggs to Anganwadi centres, gurukuls, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, and welfare hostels, while dismissing a petition filed by contractor Siri Farms.Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka imposed a penalty of ₹1 lakh on the firm for attempting to obstruct the proceedings. The govt had recently issued guidelines for egg procurement through tenders, excluding the mid-day meal scheme. The Hyderabad district collector, as chairman of the district purchase committee, oversaw the process along with officials from the education, welfare, and women and child welfare departments. The one-year supply contract, effective from Sept 1, was awarded to MA Poultry Feeds, which quoted the lowest price, resulting in annual savings of about ₹3 crore to the state exchequer. Siri Farms, based in Ibrahimpatnam, challenged the award before the high court, alleging that its objections filed on Aug 12 were ignored. It claimed violations of Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution and principles of natural justice, mainly citing technical grounds. After examining the records, Justice Bheemapaka said that the contract was granted strictly in accordance with rules and that the petitioner's objections lacked merit. The court observed that the plea was intended to stall welfare programmes and dismissed it, upholding the tender in favour of MA Poultry Feeds.