In a major embarrassment to the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), a judicial commission has held former Telangana Chief Minister 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), a flagship initiative of the previous regime.
The one-man commission, headed by Justice PC Ghose, probed the allegations of irregularities and corruption in the implementation of what was touted as India’s largest lift irrigation project.
In a report submitted to the Congress government, 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.
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.
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 that 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 ₹38,500 crore, went up to over ₹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 11 February 2016 cited a project cost of ₹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 ₹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.
Follow us
