Telangana Sheep Distribution Scheme funds transferred to individuals without prior history in livestock trade: ED

The funds meant for beneficiaries under Telangana government’s Sheep Rearing Development Scheme (SRDS) were transferred to individuals who, prior to the launch of the scheme, had no history of involvement in the livestock trade. This was one of the findings of the Directorate of Enforcement’s (ED) probe into the large-scale financial irregularities in the scheme. 

The ED teams carried out search operations at eight locations across Hyderabad on Wednesday (July 30, 2025) as part of its investigation. The raids were conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

Among the premises searched was that of G. Kalyan Kumar, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to former Animal Husbandry Minister Talasani Srinivasa Yadav. The agency also searched locations linked to several beneficiaries and middlemen flagged during the investigation.

The raids yielded evidence, including documents suggesting illegal kickbacks to public officials. Seized items included blank chequebooks, passbooks, debit cards linked to over 200 suspected mule accounts, and documents tied to an illegal online betting application. Investigators also recovered 31 used mobile phones and more than 20 SIM cards believed to have been used in the operations.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report for the financial year ending March 2021 further exposed a litany of irregularities in the scheme’s implementation. These included the absence of beneficiary records, fake invoices, payments made against non-transport vehicle registration numbers, allocation of sheep units to deceased or non-existent individuals, and instances of sheep units being recycled to fraudulently claim government subsidies.

The audit, limited to just seven of Telangana’s 33 districts, pegged the loss at ₹253.93 crore. The ED noted that if extrapolated across the state, the total loss could exceed ₹1,000 crore.

The ED’s probe stems from multiple FIRs registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau, Hyderabad. One of them alleged that following the change in government, the OSD to the ex-minister forcibly removed records from the department’s office. Another complaint, filed by a sheep merchant, claimed that ₹2.1 crore owed for the supply of sheep was siphoned off by departmental officials and diverted to unrelated accounts. Further investigation is ongoing.