Telangana irrigation minister and Congress leader Uttam Kumar Reddy at a press conference. Pic/News18
State minister Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the Telangana government is going to cooperate with central authorities and take a call on the future of the sinking pillars of the Medigadda barrage of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project based on their report. The minister added that the administration is looking into the possibilities of legal action and a judicial probe
The sinking pillars of the Medigadda barrage of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project in Telangana have become the subject of endless mudslinging between the ruling Congress and the principal opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), which was in power last year. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government too waded into the controversy on Thursday after Sriram Vedire, adviser to the Minister of Jal Shakti (MoJS), categorically blamed the K Chandrashekar Rao-led previous BRS government for the faulty construction of the project.
As details about the shoddy construction continue to emerge, the bigger concern remains: what is to be done about the damaged pillars? If they are going to be repaired, who will foot the cost?
On Friday, BRS working president K Taraka Rama Rao led a delegation of party members and media persons to the Medigadda barrage. Before leaving, he told the media that the Congress was politicising the issue. He asked the state to take up the repairs soon and provide water to farmers. He added that farmers are going to bear the brunt of this prolonged political slugfest.
On the same day, state irrigation minister Uttam Kumar Reddy said that it was shameless of the BRS to ask for repairs to be taken up. “KCR has left a legacy of a loan burden of thousands of crores. After our vigilance, CAG and NDSA reports pointed out glaring negligence in the construction of the project. How are they asking a new government to take up the repairs?” he said.
The Kaleshwaram project was built by Larsen & Toubro under the BRS government. As the blame game goes on, it is unclear which agency is going to bear the cost of the repairs. Uttam Kumar Reddy has said that his government has put on hold Rs 400 crore in payment to L&T till more details about the damages emerge. The previous BRS government had taken crores of loans from central institutions to build the project.
What’s the way forward?
At the press conference, Sriram Vedire released a 17-page document listing how the BRS government derailed KLIP. The pink party committed engineering blunders, did not submit reports, and ignored suggestions by the Central Water Commission (CWC), he alleged. One of the main points in the document was that it was KCR’s idea to shift the barrage from the original location of Tummadihatti to Medigadda.
The report says: “In 2015, BRS government lied in saying that CWC has mentioned that 165 TMC of water is not available at Tummidihetti and only 67 TMC is available at this location. In fact, CWC never said that. CWC always mentioned that 165 TMC is available at this location. BRS government wrongly mentioned that only 67 TMC is available at Tummidihetti location only to show it as a reason to move to Medigadda location.”
Probe committee set up
The MoJS has approved a committee to be led by former chairman of CWC, J Chandrashekhar Iyer, to take up a probe into the Medigadda barrage. The report is expected within a month. Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the Telangana government is going to cooperate with central authorities and take a call on the future of the sinking pillars based on the report. The minister added that the administration is looking into the possibilities of legal action and a judicial probe.
“We had asked the Chief Justice of Telangana to spare a sitting judge for a judicial probe. He, however, said that no such judge is available and we are still looking for options. We will send a vigilance report for legal vetting. We have also asked the police to conduct a probe in case there was any deliberate sabotage,” added the minister.
The project has put the government under an annual burden of Rs 25,000 crore, he said. “Rs 9,000 crore has already been spent on three barrages which have shown signs of damage. We will take action based on the report by the Centre. It’s a constitutional authority and their suggestions are better than the silly ones being put forward by KTR,” said Uttam Kumar Reddy.
