The Telangana tender dispute over food provisions and cleaning materials for residential institutions and welfare hostels has escalated after NACOF India Ltd. served a legal notice on BRS leader and former IPS officer RS Praveen Kumar, demanding that he withdraw allegations made against the federation at a September 17 press conference.
NACOF, formally the National Federation of Farmers’ Procurement, Processing and Retailing Cooperatives of India Ltd., has given Kumar seven days to withdraw the allegations, remove related videos and social media posts, and issue a written apology on the same platforms, according to the notice reported by Deccan Chronicle. The federation said it would initiate civil and criminal proceedings seeking damages and injunctive relief if he did not comply.
The dispute relates to a tender issued by the Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society for food provisions and cleaning materials. NACOF said it participated in an open, competitive e-procurement process notified on May 22, 2026, and was declared the lowest bidder, or L1, after an evaluation of all bids.
The federation said it received a formal Letter of Award on August 19 and furnished the required performance security. It has since been supplying provisions and cleaning materials to residential institutions and welfare hostels across all 33 districts of Telangana under the rate contract, it said.
NACOF rejected the allegations made by Kumar and the BRS as baseless and incorrect. In the legal notice, the federation said every stage of the tender process had been documented and alleged that Kumar had not provided evidence to substantiate his claims. The material supplied for the report does not include Kumar’s response to the notice or the specific evidence he cited at the press conference.
The dispute has brought attention to the accountability mechanisms surrounding procurement for state-run residential institutions. Such contracts involve the quality, continuity and delivery of supplies to welfare hostels and educational facilities, while the tender process determines which supplier receives the public contract and at what rate.
NACOF is a multi-state cooperative federation registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002. It is regulated by the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies under the Union Ministry of Cooperation. Its notice maintains that the tender followed a competitive process and that the federation has met the subsequent contractual requirements, including furnishing performance security and beginning supplies.
The immediate next step is Kumar’s response within the seven-day period specified by NACOF. If the allegations are not withdrawn and the requested apology and removals are not made, the federation has said it will pursue civil and criminal proceedings. The supplied report does not state whether any court case has yet been filed or whether the Telangana authorities have ordered an independent review of the tender.
