Telangana announces CBI probe into Kaleshwaram project

Hyderabad, Sep 1 The Telangana government on Monday decided to hand over to the CBI the case relating to alleged irregularities in the construction of Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project during the BRS rule.

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy made the announcement in the state Assembly in the early hours of Monday after a marathon debate, which began at 4 p.m. on Sunday.

The Chief Minister said since the case involves inter-state matters and some Central institutions, it was only appropriate to hand over the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

He made the announcement at around 1.40 a.m. after a nearly 10-hour debate on the report of the P.C. Ghose Commission, which probed the alleged irregularities in the construction of the Kaleshwaram project during Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) rule.

CM Revanth Reddy alleged that then Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) and then Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao looted public funds to the tune of Rs 1 lakh crore while then Finance Minister Eatala Rajender sat silently.

He said the Commission also indicted many officials, including IAS officers and engineers.

Stating that KCR wrote ‘death warrant’ for Telangana with Kaleshwaram, the Chief Minister said the BRS government borrowed Rs 87,000 crore at the interest rate of 11.50 per cent.

Revanth Reddy revealed that his government has so far repaid about Rs 49,835 crore, including the interest. He also claimed that another Rs 47,000 crore is required to complete the project.

The report, tabled in the Assembly on Sunday morning, held KCR directly and vicariously accountable for the irregularities and the illegalities in planning, construction, completion, operation and maintenance of three barrages.

The debate was marred by angry exchanges between members of the ruling Congress and the main opposition BRS.

BRS members tore the copies of the report to register their protest over the denial of sufficient time during the discussion. The main opposition party later staged a walkout from the House.

After coming out of the House, K.T. Rama Rao, Harish Rao and other BRS members dumped the copies of the report in the dustbin.

Responding to clarifications sought by AIMIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi, the Chief Minister said the government provided all the information to the Commission.

Earlier, the Chief Minister alleged that KCR redesigned the Kaleshwaram project and escalated the project cost to become richer than the last Nizam of Hyderabad, who was the world’s richest man of his time.

The Chief Minister came down heavily on KCR and Harish Rao for changing the location of the project and accused them of misappropriation of funds borrowed for the construction of the project.

Headed by former judge of the Supreme Court Pinaki Chandra Ghose, the Commission probed the alleged irregularities in planning, design, construction, quality control, operation and maintenance of Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla Barrages of the Kaleshwaram project.

Responding to Harish Rao’s remarks during the debate, the Chief Minister said that Harish Rao was misleading the Telangana society with incomplete information.

The Chief Minister claimed that the BRS government deliberately suppressed the facts to change the location of the project. He said that since the Ghose Commission exposed them, the BRS leaders were spewing venom against it. The report clearly mentioned on page number 98 that Harish Rao committed faults.

The CM pointed out that the Maharashtra government never opposed the project at Tummidihatti and only suggested reducing the height.

CM Revanth Reddy brought to the attention of the House that KCR and Harish Rao ignored the report of the retired engineers’ committee and shifted the barrage to Medigadda from Tummidihatti.

The Chief Minister said the Ghosh Commission stated clearly in its report that the state exchequer was looted by ignoring the report of the retired engineers’ committee.

Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said the project, constructed at a cost of Rs 1 lakh crore, collapsed within three years. He alleged that the cost of the project was escalated for the sake of commissions.

He mentioned that projects constructed 50-60 years ago were still intact. Pocharam project constructed by Nizam withstood the recent floods, he said.

Vikramarka said the Medigadda barrage collapsed when the BRS was in power, and the entire state saw it. He told the House that the Ghose Commission gave the report after hearing KCR and Harish Rao. He said that since there were irregularities, they approached the Court to stop tabling of the report. “Any project is designed by engineers and subject experts, but Kaleshwaram was designed by KCR and Harish Rao,” he said.

Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy said the previous BRS regime spent more than Rs 1 lakh crore on Kaleshwaram, but the project collapsed. He termed it as India’s man-made financial disaster.

Telangana could have completed the earlier Pranahita-Chevella at Rs 38,500 crore and finished several ongoing lift schemes from the previous decade.

Uttam Kumar Reddy told the House that the then Congress government launched Pranahita-Chevella in 2009 with Central Water Commission processing under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme, and that interstate arrangements with Maharashtra on barrage levels and submergence studies were underway through an interstate board process supported by the Central Water and Power Research Station, Pune. By 2014, Rs 11,679 crore had been spent -- about 30 per cent of the then estimated cost of Rs 38,500 crore, before the then new TRS state government abandoned the plan and pushed a redesign on the Godavari at Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla.

The shift was taken up as Kaleshwaram with a sanctioned outlay of about Rs 87,449 crore and then expanded, with the CAG later reporting a figure of Rs 1.27 lakh crore and projections now pointing to a total of about Rs 1.47 lakh crore, compared to a viable, lower-cost Pranahita-Chevella pathway, he added.

BJP floor leader A. Maheshwar Reddy said the lack of mention of KCR’s corruption in the report raises suspicions. He alleged that the report appeared to have been prepared by Congress and BRS together.

The BJP leader wanted to know what action the government would take against the corrupt.

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