Hari Ram Began Process Of Borrowing For KLIS
In his oral evidence before the commission, Hari Ram said that the first loan was taken from the Union Bank of India.
Hyderabad:Bhookya Hari Ram, former Kaleshwaram Irrigation Project Corporation Limited (KIPCL) managing director and a key accused in the illegal assets case being investigated by the ACB, initiated the process of borrowing funds for the project from several banks.
In his affidavit submitted before the P.C. Ghose commission on July 15, 2024, Hari Ram stated that in the light of discussions regarding the setting up of a special purpose vehicle (SPV), the Kaleshwaram Irrigation Project Corporation Limited, he had consulted several banks for financial assistance.
“About `7,400 crore, including interest during construction (IDC), from the Union Bank of India consortium; `11,400 crore from the PNB consortium; `2,150 crore from Bank of Baroda; `27,737 crore from PFC Limited; and `8,225 crore from Nabard — amounting to a total of `56,913 crore,” were borrowed Hari Ram informed the commission.
The officer stated that he was associated with the works under Link-IV and Link-V of the Kaleshwaram Project, including works from the Raja Rajeshwara Reservoir (Mid-Manair reservoir) to Kondapochammasagar and Nrusimhasagar (Baswapur reservoir), covering Packages 10 to 16 of the project.
In his oral evidence before the commission, Hari Ram said that the first loan was taken from the Union Bank of India. He stated that 10 banks disbursed loans in respect of Link-I of the Kaleshwaram Project. He added that these banks, along with the KIPCL authority, had formed a consortium to grant loans to KIPCL.
Hari Ram chose to remain silent on why the KIPCL was constituted and for what purpose it was raising loans. Despite being the managing director of KIPCL, he disbursed cheques to agencies upon receiving pay orders from the director of works and accounts.
