Action Against Kaleshwaram Culprits After Debate in Assembly, Says Revanth
Cabinet approves Ghose report, to be tabled in Assembly for a debate
Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Monday said that the Cabinet has approved the Justice P.C. Ghose Commission report on the Rs 1.1 lakh-crore Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme. The report will be tabled in the Assembly and the Council for a thorough debate, allowing all political parties to provide their inputs on it.
The Chief Minister said that action against those held accountable by the Commission for irregularities in the project will be taken after deliberations in the Legislature. “There will be no action based on political or personal grudges,” he said at a press conference at the Secretariat after the Cabinet meeting.
Strongly criticising the previous BRS government, Revanth Reddy alleged that the Kaleshwaram project was constructed with "corruption and political favouritism at its core." He pointed out that structural issues had emerged in key components of the project within three years of its completion.
“The Medigadda barrage sank, and cracks have appeared in the Annaram and Sundilla barrages,” he said, citing findings from the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA), which reported serious flaws in planning, construction, and maintenance.
Revanth Reddy reminded that the Congress, in its 2023 Assembly election manifesto, had promised a probe into the Kaleshwaram project’s execution. Accordingly, a judicial commission headed by retired Supreme Court judge, Justice P.C. Ghose, was constituted on March 14, 2023. After 16 months of investigation, the Commission submitted a 665-page report to the government on July 31. The government formed a three-member committee to prepare a summary of the report for the Cabinet.
Revanth Reddy alleged that former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao had redesigned the original Pranahita-Chevella project, launched by then Chief Minister Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, under the guise of improving efficiency, but instead laid the groundwork for corruption. “Locations were changed, project names were altered, and estimates were manipulated. Ultimately, the project collapsed within three years, in 2023, during their own regime,” he stated.
In a sharp rebuttal to Chandrashekar Rao’s recent comments dismissing the Ghose Commission report as a “Congress report,” Revanth Reddy questioned why BRS leaders, including Chandrashekar Rao and former minister T. Harish Rao, had appeared before the Commission and submitted information if they had no faith in its impartiality. “They have a habit of speaking differently based on whether the outcome favours them,” he remarked.
Revanth Reddy said that the Commission functioned independently without political interference. “There is no political vendetta here. The report's findings will be placed before the people’s representatives in the Assembly and Council, and decisions will be taken based on collective opinion,” he added. The government intends to ensure full transparency and accountability before initiating any legal or disciplinary action against those indicted by the Commission, he said.
