Telangana's New Irrigation Minister Promises Transparent Probe into Controversial Kaleshwaram Project

Telangana’s new minister for irrigation and civil supplies N Uttam Kumar Reddy said on Monday that the government will launch an inquiry immediately to investigate the sinking of pillars at the Medigadda barrage of the Kaleshwaram project. He said this at a review meeting conducted at the Jala Soudha Bhavan.

The minister assured that the Congress government will fulfil all promises made in its manifesto regarding irrigation projects. “We will investigate the allegations regarding irregularities in the Kaleshwaram project. The people deserve to know how tax money was spent,” added Reddy.

This assumes significance as alleged corruption in the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project was one of the primary issues in the recent Telangana assembly elections. The opposition had alleged repeatedly that the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government had wasted crores of taxpayer’s money in faulty redesigning and execution. The last nail in the coffin was a damning report released by the National Dam Safety Authority of India which stated that lack of stringent quality control, flaws in planning and designing led to the sinking of pillars at Medigadda. The Congress, which was in the opposition at that time, had said that chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR)’s family had been using the project as “their ATM”.

“All aspects of the Kaleshwaram project will be examined and we will also persuade the central government to reward national project status for the Palamuru Ranga Reddy project. Apart from these, we will fight for the rightful share of Krishna water for Telangana,” he added.

He also affirmed that pending projects wherein more ayacut can be given water at less cost would be given priority and completed on a fast-track basis. ⁠BR Ambedkar Pranahita Chevella project will also be taken up.

The government will also consider taking up maintenance of 40,000 ponds in the state, said Reddy. “We will discuss with the chief minister about the construction of the Tummadihatti project and make a decision. We will also work out the expenses required to complete the Srisailam Left Bank Canal project,” said the minister in the review meeting.