Harish Rao Gives Extra Details to Kaleshwaram Probe Panel

BRS leader and former minister T. Harish Rao met the P. C. Ghose Commission on Friday to provide more information about the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project. This project, built during BRS rule, is under investigation for alleged irregularities.

After the meeting, Harish Rao told the media he shared all the details he had. He said decisions about the project’s barrages were taken six times in the Cabinet and approved three times by the Assembly. He submitted a report with this information to the Commission.

Rao mentioned that while he wrote to top officials for more documents, he received no reply. So, he compiled all the information he had and gave it to the Commission.

He said approvals were given by the Assembly for building Medigadda, Annaram, and Sundilla barrages, and these approvals were more important than Cabinet approvals.

The Commission, led by retired Supreme Court judge Pinaki Chandra Ghose, is investigating problems in the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of the three barrages. It was formed in March 2024 after some piers of Medigadda Barrage collapsed.

Earlier, Rao appeared before the Commission in June and explained that the project had to be redesigned because of objections from Maharashtra and the Central Water Commission. He also said the location was shifted from Thummidihatti to Medigadda after a survey showed better water availability there.

Former chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) also gave his statement to the Commission on June 11.