Irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy blamed the previous BRS government for Telangana’s irrigation crisis, citing its decision to drop the Tummidihatti barrage as a key failure.
Nalgonda:Irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy blamed the previous BRS government for Telangana’s irrigation crisis, citing its decision to drop the Tummidihatti barrage as a key failure. Had the barrage been built as originally planned under the Congress-proposed Pranahita-Chevella Srujala Sravanthi project, the irrigation situation would have been significantly different, he said.
The Congress government had planned the barrage at a cost of Rs 38,000 crore, but the BRS regime had shelved it allegedly to deny Congress the credit, Uttam Kumar Reddy said at a press conference at Huzurnagar on Saturday.
He alleged that then-Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao ahd launched the Kaleshwaram scheme at a cost of `1.2 lakh crore, designed to inflate project costs and commissions. “The collapse of a pillar of the Medigadda barrage has exposed the massive irregularities in execution,” he explained.
Uttam Kumar Reddy said that with `1.2 lakh crore, the state could have built Tummidihatti and completed multiple projects — Koilsagar, Bheema, Nettempadu, Kalwakurthy, Dindi, Sitarama and Gouravelly — with remaining `64,000-crore funds — and avoided the current crisis. “The BRS government not only diverted funds but also pushed the state into debt,” he said.
He criticised the renaming of Congress-era projects, questioning the removal of names like Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Dr B.R. Ambedkar. “Why was Rajivsagar renamed Sitarama? Why was Pranahita-Chevella turned into Kaleshwaram? This reflects a petty mindset and disrespect for national icons,” he alleged.
The minister said that the Justice P.C. Ghose Commission was conducting an impartial inquiry into the damage to barrages under the Kaleshwaram scheme, and that the government would act on its final report.
Referring to the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) report on the structural failures in KLIS, Uttam Kumar Reddy slammed BRS leaders for mocking the findings. “They even claimed bombs were planted — if so, why didn’t they act when in power? Now, 16 months after losing power, they suddenly spin this fairy tale?” he questioned.
He noted that engineers, construction agencies and experts had warned of flaws in the three barrages, but BRS leaders ignored the warnings and pursued commissions. “That is why Kaleshwaram has become a disaster,” he said. Defending the credibility of the NDSA, Uttam said it is a constitutional body with high professional standards. “Ridiculing it only reveals BRS’s guilt and fear,” he quipped.
Highlighting the Congress’s record, he said the party initiated major reforms in the irrigation sector, including the appointment of 1,100 engineers and 1,800 field workers. “Our goal is to maximise ayacut coverage with minimum expenditure. We’ve already drawn up plans to complete pending projects and release funds for land acquisition,” he explained.
Uttam Kumar Reddy said Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s recent high-level review at the Jala Soudha office was part of a comprehensive strategy to revive Telangana’s irrigation infrastructure. He accused the former regime of making top-down decisions without consulting engineers. “They flew over projects in helicopters and issued orders from the sky, ignoring ground realities. That arrogance led to the collapse of Kaleshwaram, and now they must answer to the people,” he said.
Earlier, the minister inspected works at Rajivsagar in Suryapet and the Aitipamula lift irrigation scheme in Nalgonda district.
