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Congress Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s decision to order a CBI probe into the allegations of irregularities in the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project—the flagship initiative of the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government—has surprised his own party leaders.
 
While senior Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, have been accusing the BJP of using the Central agencies such as the CBI as political tools to target the Opposition parties, the Telangana CM has gone ahead and announced that the probe into the high-profile political case would be handed over to the CBI.
 
A section of the state Congress leaders fear that Revanth may have played into the hands of the saffron party by opting for a CBI inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the design, planning, and execution of what was billed as the country’s largest lift irrigation projects.
 
Critics say the Chief Minister’s decision runs contrary to his own party’s narrative on how the Central agencies have been reduced to mere puppets in the hands of the NDA government. It blunts the Congress’ national narrative of institutional misuse and could eventually strengthen the BJP’s position
 
Not surprisingly, the saffron party has welcomed the CBI probe.
 
Speculation over tacit deal
 
In the run-up to the December 2023 Assembly polls, the state political circles were abuzz with speculation over a possible tacit understanding between the BJP and the BRS to counter their common enemy, the Congress. There were reports that BRS MLC K Kavita, daughter of party supremo K Chandrashekhar Rao, was let off the hook in the Delhi liquor scam case and released from Tihar jail as part of a secret deal between the two parties.
 
There was also a talk about the possible merger of the BRS into the BJP. Now, the CBI takeover of the Kaleshwaram case could work to the advantage of the BJP in future, providing much manoeuvrability to the saffron party in dealing with the regional party.  
 
It is surprising why the Chief Minister failed to factor in these political possibilities before taking the decision. A probe by a state agency could have given him full control over the course of the case.
 
It must be pointed out that less than a year ago, the Karnataka Congress government withdrew consent for CBI investigations, calling the agency a “misused tool.” On his part, Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly called the CBI and ED “weapons of the BJP and RSS.”
 
Revanth’s announcement of entrusting the probe to the CBI came after an eight-hour stormy debate in the Telangana Assembly over the report of the Justice PC Ghose Commission, which examined the allegations of irregularities and illegalities in the project’s construction.
 
KCR indicted
 
The one-man judicial Commission held former CM K Chandrashekar Rao and several top officials directly accountable for the “rampant and brazen procedural and financial irregularities” in the execution of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS).
 
The Commission concluded that the KCR, along with the then Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao, and several top officials were accountable for the collapse of the piers of the Medigadda barrage and structural defects in Annaram and Sundilla barrages.
 

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According to the executive summary of the report, the Commission has flagged rampant procedural and financial irregularities, design flaws, and construction defects in the three barrages.
 
The Commission submitted its report to the state government on July 31. The state Cabinet approved it on August 4, and the report was tabled in the Assembly on August 31.
 
Litany of failures
 
Intentional suppression of expert committee reports against Medigadda Barrage, dishonesty in shifting the water source point from Tummidihatti, abnormal escalation of the project costs, awarding of contracts on a lump sum basis, and hiding the decisions from the Cabinet were among the grave lapses highlighted by the Commission.
 
The probe report held the then Chief Minister primarily accountable for bypassing established procedures and ignoring expert advice, resulting in colossal public expenditure and infrastructure now in distress.
 
The report also said the then Finance Minister Eatala Rajender, who is now with the BJP, demonstrated lack of integrity in safeguarding the financial and economic health of Telangana.
 
Key IAS officers SK Joshi, then Principal Secretary to Government on Irrigation, should be held liable for suppressing the expert committee report and violating rules in administrative approvals while Smita Sabharwal, Secretary to Chief Minister, was irresponsible in the discharge of her duties, the report said.
 
Crucially, the findings reveal that an expert committee, constituted in January 2015, had advised against constructing the Medigadda barrage due to high costs and time delays, recommending alternate sites like Vemanapally. But it was intentionally suppressed. The decision to construct the three barrages was not a collective Cabinet resolution but “the sole and individual decision” of KCR.
 
The Commission’s findings detail a project marred by poor planning, questionable contract awards and a complete absence of operation and maintenance (O&M), transforming the Kaleshwaram Project—intended as Telangana’s lifeline—into a monumental financial and structural debacle.
 
The report estimated the project’s cost, initially pegged at Rs 38,500 crore, went up to over Rs 1,10,248.48 crore by March 2022, with allegations of funds being siphoned off to favour contractors.
 
The probe found that the decision to construct barrages at Medigadda, Annaram, and Sundilla was the “sole and individual decision” of Chandrashekar Rao and Harish Rao, without formal government approval or Cabinet sanction, violating Government Business Rules.
 
Insecure and dishonest justification
 
The justification for shifting the barrage site from Tummidi Hetti to Medigadda, citing “no availability of water,” was deemed “insincere and dishonest” by the Commission.
 
Besides, the initial administration bypassed Cabinet scrutiny, and a letter from Chandrashekar Rao to the Prime Minister on February 11, 2016 cited a project cost of Rs 71,436 crore before the final Detailed Project Report (DPR) by WAPCOS Limited was submitted.
 
The Commission criticised the awarding of contracts on a “lump sum” basis rather than the Central Water Commission’s (CWC) recommended “turnkey” model, which includes maintenance.
 
Two revised administrative approvals further inflated costs, citing reasons such as increased barrage lengths, design changes, and additional works, including staff quarters and guest houses.
 
The Commission labelled these revisions as having “malicious intention to unduly favour the agencies” and siphon public funds.
 
The report accused project authorities and contractors of acting “hand in glove” with “concerted malicious intention” to make unlawful gains. It recommends recovering Rs 677.67 lakh paid to WAPCOS Limited, whose DPR was ignored, from the responsible officials.
 
A glaring failure highlighted by the Commission was the “complete absence” of operation and maintenance for the three barrages. No periodical checks, pre or post-monsoon inspections, or reports were conducted.
 
The Commission noted that the then Chief Minister’s directive to continuously impound water in the barrages to their full capacity for lifting through pump houses—despite barrages being diversion structures, not storage ones—was a “major cause” of their distress. This misuse, combined with design deficiencies, exacerbated structural issues.
 
The barrages, built on permeable foundations, were wrongly used as storage structures, against standard engineering practice, it said.