Congress aims for Kaleshwaram project repairs before monsoon, pushes for judicial probe

Hyderabad: The Congress government in Telangana will take legal action against those who are found to have participated in any irregularities in the Kaleshwaram irrigation project, said Irrigation and Civil Supplies minister Uttam Kumar Reddy on Friday.

Regarding repairs to the damaged piers of Medigadda and Annaram barrages, the minister said that the State government hopes to begin the repairs before the monsoon starts.

The Telangana government had asked the chief justice to allot a sitting judge to carry out a judicial investigation into the project. However, the party was told there was no judge available. “We are now going to request chief justice again as we have the vigilance report and the CAG report. The CAG report is also going to be discussed in Assembly,” Uttam Kumar Reddy said.

Reddy who objected to the ‘technical statements’ of former urban development minister KT Rama Rao said that he must first answer for the wrong decisions made during the construction of the project.

‘Tu tu mein mein’

On the day when KTR led a group of political leaders and media persons to Kaleshwaram to inspect the barrages, Uttam Kumar Reddy held a press conference to discuss Medigadda.

The Kaleshwaram project has now turned into a political slugfest in Telangana. The issue will be kept alive for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections. Amid a bitter and harsh exchange of words and numbers, the question remains: will the government take up repair works for the Kaleshwaram project?

Repairs in summer important

Taking into consideration the approaching summer months, repairs to the damaged pillars of Medigadda and Annaram barrages are important. It will help to make the pre-monsoon assessment of the storage of water.

Reddy said, “We are waiting for a report from the National Dam Safety Authority on the type of work that must be done. NDSA is a constitutional authority and based on their reports the repair will be taken up.” Reddy is hopeful that the report will be submitted in a month. “We will begin repairs before the onset of monsoon,” he added.

Will work be done before monsoon?

Uttam Kumar Reddy said that they will start the repair work soon. The Congress government has requested L&T Construction to take up the repair. “Around Rs 94,000 crores was spent on the project of which Rs 9,000 crores was only on the three barrages. We have to repair and restore the project. But at the same time all those culprits who have carried out the sub-standard work will not go free,” he said.

Who will bear the repair costs?

There is no clarity on this aspect till now. Will the Congress government abandon the project? No, said Reddy and said that the project made with people’s money will be fully utilised.

“As a responsible government, we will carry out the repairs and restore the project. But the burden on the people of Telangana will be 10 times more. Repair costs are estimated to be about Rs 25,000 crores,” he said. It is clear that the repair works will take time as the Lok Sabha elections are a priority and the project needs to be utilised for political mileage.

Earlier observation of NDSA

Reddy stated that NDSA, in its earlier report, stated that these points were missing.

- Relevant sectional drawings of the structures and geological profiles were not provided.

- Barrage details not provided

- Quality control reports not provided

- There are no third-party monitoring reports

- Pre and post-monsoon reports not provided.

- Completion report of each block not done and completion report of a full project not done properly.

Objections to these points claimed that the NDSA officials were influenced by the Central government and the report is biased.