Medigadda cracks: Vigilance panel indicts L&T, 30 irrigation officials; recommends action

Time of India

03-06-2025

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Hyderabad: The Telangana Vigilance Commission (TVC) has recommended criminal and departmental action against construction giant L&T Precision Engineering and Systems (PES) and over 30 top irrigation officials—both serving and retired—for their alleged roles in the structural collapse of block 7 of the Medigadda barrage, which is part of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS).
The charges include corruption, criminal conspiracy, and gross dereliction of duty, with officials accused of blindly approving flawed designs and allowing substandard execution, resulting in massive public money loss.
In a scathing report, the TVC called for stringent action under various legal provisions, including the Prevention of Corruption Act of 1988, Dam Safety Act of 2021, and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act of 1984.
Criminal charges under IPC sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 336 (endangering life), 409 (criminal breach of trust), 418 (cheating), 423 (dishonest execution of documents), and 426 (mischief) have also been recommended.
The commission held L&T PES squarely responsible for engineering failures that led to the collapse of the piers. It pointed out that the contractor falsely claimed completion of barrage works despite not fulfilling key requirements outlined in the supplemental agreement.
"The agency reportedly deviated from its approved method for constructing secant piles, triggering a 'piping action' under the raft foundation—leading to cavities and the eventual sinking of block 7," the TVC said in its report.
The commission also recommended recovery of the full cost of replacing the collapsed block from the contractor.
Once touted as former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's flagship irrigation initiative and a symbol of Telangana's engineering ambition, the KLIS allegedly became a fodder for political parties in the run-up to 2023 assembly elections.
Executed at a cost of over ₹1.2 lakh crore, the project has faced mounting criticism for inflated costs, rushed clearances, and structural failures. Chief minister A Revanth Reddy rode to power on a wave of public anger, promising a thorough probe into the Kaleshwaram project, which he branded as the "biggest irrigation scam in independent India.
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Top officials under fire
Seventeen senior irrigation officials were directly blamed for the collapse.
Among them are C Muralidhar, former engineer-in-chief (ENC), who served for nearly eight years; Bhupathi Raju Nagendra Rao, ENC (operations and maintenance); T Srinivas, chief engineer, Central Designs Organisation (CDO); V Phanibhushan Sharma, director of works and accounts; Mohammed Ajmal Khan, deputy CE, ENC office; N Venkateshwarlu, retired ENC, Kaleshwaram project; Kotte Sudhakar Reddy, CE, Ramagundam circle (in-charge); engineers from Mahadevpur division, including B Venkata Ramana Reddy, Sardar Omkar Singh, and Ch Thirupathi Rao; B Venkateshwarlu, retired CE, quality control division; quality control engineers V Ajaya Kumar, PA Venkata Krishna, and M Raghu Ram; A Narender Reddy, retired ENC; and H Basavaraj of CDO.
Seven retired senior officers—Muralidhar, N Venkateshwarlu, G Hari Hara Chary, B Venkateshwarlu, Ch Gangadhar, Ajaya Kumar, and Narender Reddy—will face inquiry under the Commissions of Inquiry Act. In addition to the core group, 33 other engineers will face departmental penalties for various lapses in design, execution, and supervision.
The report also targets principal secretaries and their subordinate staff in the irrigation department who served between 2015 and the time of the collapse in Oct 2023 and recommended action against them.
It found that senior bureaucrats "blindly approved" critical project proposals without examining their technical merits, despite repeated red flags.
The TVC has advised that disciplinary actions proceed simultaneously, even if police investigations or court proceedings are still underway.
The commission's recommendations come even as the Justice (Retd) PC Ghose one-man Commission of Inquiry continues its probe into the irregularities.
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TVC's other recommendations and lapses by L&T
As per the agreement it was supposed to follow agreement conditions during the course of execution of works.
To cross check the estimate provisions with respect to the agreement conditions such as dewatering clause.
The chief engineer of Medigadda barrage violated the provisions of various GOs, which was issued for approving deviations up to 15% over the above the original administrative approvals under intimation to the govt. But the CE failed to intimate the govt.