The Telangana Congress has promised a judicial inquiry into alleged irregularities and corruption surrounding the construction of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) in their manifesto. The election manifesto released on November 17 has given an assurance that a sitting High Court judge will probe the matter surrounding the Kaleshwaram Project, a flagship scheme of the Telangana government led by Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
The Kaleshwaram project became a major talking point after six piers of the Medigadda (Lakshmi) barrage, one of the three main barrages of KLIP, sank on October 28. While the BRS’ working president KT Rama Rao (KTR) has in several interviews defended the five-year-old project, the Opposition, the Congress and the BJP, flayed the government and said the sinking of piers is proof of shoddy management.
KTR has stated that if the final report of the dam safety expert committee flags any issue, rectification work would be taken up by the contracted agency that built the barrage and not one penny of the exchequer would be wasted.
However, following the barrage sinking, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi did an aerial survey of the area on November 2 and attacked the BRS. He alleged that the Rs 1 lakh crore irrigation scheme was riddled with irregularities. “Kaleshwaram is the ATM of KCR and his family. People of Telangana will have to deposit Rs 31,000 crore every year in this ATM for the maintenance of the project,” he stated, taking a jibe at KCR and the BRS.
Telangana Congress president A Revanth Reddy had also termed Kaleshwaram project as ‘KCR’s scameshwaram project.” He alleged that inferior quality work also resulted in leakage at Annaram (Saraswati) barrage, which is part of the KLIP.