Plea on Kaleshwaram project in HC: TPCC seeks CBI probe into damages to 3 barrages

Hyderabad: On Monday, The Telangana High Court heard a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by G Niranjan, TPCC senior vice president and chairman, seeking a CBI/SFIO (Serious Fraud Investigation Office) probe into the damages to the Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages of the Kaleshwaram irrigation project.

The Chief Justice Bench, comprising CJ Alok Aradhe and Justice Anil Kumar Jukanti, said ‘action has been set in motion... The State government has addressed letters to the National Dam Safety Authority to look into this issue and NDSA has also appointed a committee.”

Before the submissions of the advocate general on this issue before the court, CJ Alok Aradhe questioned the counsel as to what he (the petitioner) was doing since 2016 i.e., the year in which the construction of the Kaleshwaram irrigation project commenced.

Chief Justice Alok Aradhe said when ‘the State government is taking action, you should be satisfied... this is not a “publicity” interest litigation.’

Advocate General Sudershan Reddy informed the Bench that the State government has ordered a vigilance and enforcement enquiry into the issue of sinking of some piers at Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages of the Kaleshwaram Irrigation Project and the V&E department has conducted a preliminary enquiry and submitted its report.

Based on the preliminary enquiry report, the State government has terminated the services of N Venkateshwarlu, engineer-in-chief of the Kaleshwaram irrigation project and directed C Muralidhar Rao, engineer-in-chief of Irrigation and Command Area to tender his resignation.

The AG informed the court that action would be initiated against other officers, responsible for the sinking/breakage of the barrages after the final report is received.

The State government has written to the National Dam Safety Authority, New Delhi, to enquire into the breakage of three barrages, based on which it has constituted a six-member committee, which visited the three barrages on October 24 and 25, 2023, and conducted a preliminary investigation. Subsequently, the NDSA has communicated its reasons for the sinking of the three barrages and recommended measures to repair the three barrages.

The advocate general further informed the court that the State government is contemplating conducting a judicial enquiry into this issue by exercising power under Section 3(1) of the Commission of Enquiry Act, 1952 through a former Judge of the High Court/Supreme Court.

A writ petition with a similar plea was filed by advocate B Rammohan Reddy seeking a probe into irregularities committed by officials of the State government and Central government on the construction of the mammoth Kaleshwaram irrigation project was also heard by the Chief Justice Bench.

The Bench adjourned the writ petition by two weeks, directing the petitioner to implead the Central Water Commission to the petition.