Nagam Janardhan Reddy alleges graft in Palamuru lift Irrigation scheme
Hyderabad: The BJP leader and former minister, Nagam Janardhan Reddy, has written to Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao alleging large scale corruption in the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS), running into several thousand crores, and has demanded a probe into the matter.
He released some documents that supported earlier allegations he had made that pumps had been purchased at inflated prices and changes had been made in the designs and structure of the project to suit contractors who had swindled large amounts of funds as a result. He also alleged that politicians took kickbacks in the scheme.
He said he has written to the Chief Minister because the latter has challenged anyone to prove that there is corruption in his government.
He said that based on his complaint to the Vigilance Commi-ssioner, a special report was sent to the government but no action has resulted thus far.
He said that the cost of the pump and motor which were technically sanctioned were increased heavily in the estimates given by ESCI. The cost of the pump with associated auxiliaries was Rs 60 crore and for the synchronised motor it was Rs 58 crore. But this was increased to Rs 92 crore for the pump and to Rs 87 crore for the motor and all this happened without any technical evaluation, Mr Reddy alleged.
He said that, similarly, for four packages of Narlapur, Yedula, Vattem and Uddanda-pur, estimates were illegally increased by Rs 2,400 crore.
within 72 hours before issuing the notice inviting tenders. How is all this possible without massive corruption?" Mr Janardhana Reddy asked.
Reacting to Mr Reddy's letter at a media conference, Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao called the allegations baseless. He said the former minister has made it a habit to repeat the same allegation during the last three years.
He said that for every decision to change the designs and structures, a high level technical evaluation committee had looked into all aspects and given its approval. He also said the size of pumps and motors were changed due to redesigning and restructuring of the project.
