The Congress-led Telangana government faces criticism for announcing a Rs 1,000 crore investment by a private company established less than a month ago by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s brother, Anumula Jagadeeshwar Reddy. The government announced the MoU with Swachh Biogreen Private Limited, on August 6. The company was set up on July 21 of this year with Revanth’s brother as one of the directors. The company is supposed to set up a cellulosic biofuels plant in the state.
While the Telangana Congress high command has remained tightlipped on the issue, the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has dubbed this a case of nepotism. BRS working president KT Rama Rao (KTR) said that people were being fooled by “shell companies and Scamgress (a pun on Congress) tactics.”
After a meeting with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, IT and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu, and the official Telangana delegation, Swachh Bio, a lignocellulosic biofuels manufacturing company focused on providing energy solutions for a sustainable future, announced that it would soon establish a 250-kilo litre per day (KLPD) second-generation, cellulosic biofuels plant in Telangana. The first phase of the investment “will provide employment to 250 people at the plant, and 250 people in additional support and other roles,” the CMO said in a statement.
Information on the Ministry of Corporate Affairs website shows that Swacch Bio was incorporated only on July 21, 2024, and lists Anumula Jagadeeshwar Reddy as a director along with Vedavalli Shivananda Reddy. According to reports, Jagadeeshwar used to live in the United States and returned to Telangana in 2023. The company was set up 13 days before the Chief Minister’s tour of the United States commenced on August 3.
The other director of Swachh Bio, Vedavalli Shivananda Reddy is also the director at Gourmavens Private Limited from February 2022 and was the director of Archeesh Health Care Private Limited for a month in 2017. Gourmavens is involved in the hotel and hospitality industry.
While the directors were not present at the signing of the agreement with the CM, Swachh Bio was represented by its chairman Praveen Paripati who praised the Congress-led government’s vision of ‘decentralised development’. The CMO also said that Swacch Bio’s international partner, Suganit Biorenewables (founded by Praveen Paripati), has developed a patented and viable technology for producing biofuels and biochemicals which would add to the Telangana government’s efforts towards sustainable and eco-friendly growth.
While the Congress-led government has been criticised for granting a deal to a newly formed company, the Congress quickly defended itself.
"Suganit Chairman (referring to Praveen Paripati) has been in Research and Development for nearly 17 years. They are a well-established company and are the main investors for Swachh Bio,” Telangana IT and Industries minister Sridhar Babu told TNM.
“Further, if an NRI wants to do some business in Telangana, they shouldn’t be stopped just because they are somebody's brother—as long as the business is being done legally. I would like the Opposition to consider Suganit Biorenewables’ experience before going ahead with allegations. The CM's brother would also like to contribute to the state as he has been an NRI for a while and there is nothing wrong with it," he said.