'Let's debate on Banakacherla': Former minister T Harish Rao calls out Telangana CM Revanth Reddy for assembly debate on water dispute
Harish
Rao on Wednesday challenged CM Revanth Reddy to an open debate in assembly on Godavari-Banakacherla issue. He said the govt should ensure their microphones are not muted or cameras turned away during debate.
Harish Rao claimed that CM lacked understanding of water-sharing issues.
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India Today
14 hours ago
- India Today
Probe panel holds KCR responsible for Kaleshwaram project irregularities: Sources
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) president and former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) has been named as primarily responsible for large-scale irregularities in the planning, design, and financial management of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project in the final report of the Justice PC Ghose Commission, according to report submitted on July 31, describes the project as a 'colossal waste of public money,' the Commission has placed direct and vicarious accountability on Rao for what it calls 'rampant and brazen irregularities' that led to a financial disaster and structural Kaleshwaram project, which includes the Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages, saw its cost escalate from Rs 38,500 crore to over Rs 1.10 lakh crore by 2022. The Commission's report states that key planning and decision-making processes were dominated solely by Rao and then Irrigation minister and KCR's nephew T Harish Rao, without approval from the cabinet. A crucial expert report opposing the viability of the Medigadda barrage was allegedly suppressed, and site changes were pushed through with misleading justifications and a lack of report finds that the contracts were awarded on a lump sum basis, bypassing the Central Water Commission's recommendation for turnkey contracts. Subsequent revised administrative approvals (RAA I and II) led to a drastic and unjustified increase in costs. The Commission notes that completion certificates were issued despite incomplete and defective work, and that there was collusion between contractors and government officials, leading to massive losses to the public lapses in operation and maintenance were also highlighted. The Commission found that there were no inspections or safety checks and that water was impounded continuously in violation of engineering norms, contributing to the structural distress seen at Medigadda. The project also used unsafe permeable foundations for water storage and ignored geotechnical study requirements, with quality checks allegedly addition to KCR, the Commission has named several other key officials. The then Irrigation minister T Harish Rao has been held responsible for suppressing expert advice, and then Finance Minister Eatala Rajender has been criticised for failing to ensure financial oversight. Senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers and engineers were found to have suppressed facts, submitted false evidence, and failed in their duties related to safety and report recommends strong legal action against those involved and recovery of misused public funds. The Justice PC Ghose Commission concluded that the failures were not incidental but stemmed from deliberate decisions that violated government business rules and disregarded expert warnings, resulting in enormous financial and structural 11 June, KCR had appeared before Justice PC Ghose Commission in connection with the investigation into the alleged irregularities in the project.- EndsMust Watch IN THIS STORY#Telangana
The Hindu
16 hours ago
- The Hindu
Telangana Congress leaders depart for Delhi in a special train to demand 42% BC reservations
In a show of political commitment, Backward Classes (BC) leaders from Telangana left for New Delhi in a special train on Monday (August 4, 2025) to participate in a three-day campaign demanding the implementation of 42% reservations for BCs. They will join the dharna at Jantar Mantar on Wednesday (August 6, 2025) where Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, his Cabinet colleagues will also participate seeking Presidential assent to the bills passed by the Telangana Legislature on BC reservations. Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud, All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan, Ministers Ponnam Prabhakar and Vakiti Srihari flagged off the train at Cherlapally railway station on Monday morning. While Ms. Meenakshi will travel up to New Delhi, the other three leaders travelled up to Alair and will join the dharna the day after. Speaking to the media, Mr. Goud said that BC leaders have departed for Delhi to press for their constitutional and social rights. 'The collective voice of BCs must move forward with unity,' he said. Mr. Goud said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has taken up the BC cause nationally, and the Telangana Congress, under the leadership of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, is playing a central role in this movement. 'After the 1931 caste census, this is the first historic step towards true representation,' he added. The TPCC president came down heavily on BJP leaders N. Ramachandra Rao and Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy, accusing them of deliberately blocking the BC reservation bill. He also questioned the silence of prominent BJP BC leaders, including Bandi Sanjay, Etela Rajender, and Dharmapuri Arvind. 'Do the BJP's BC leaders have no courage? Why are they not speaking up?' Praising Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's sincerity, he said, 'Though Revanth Reddy is not from the BC community, he has worked with complete commitment towards implementing BC reservations.' The Minister Ponnam Prabhakar, who also addressed the media, reiterated that the campaign for BC reservations was not a partisan issue. 'A special train carrying Congress leaders has departed for Delhi with a clear agenda of getting consent to the 42% BC reservations,' he said. 'Just as we fought unitedly for Telangana, we must now fight unitedly for BC rights. Let us keep this movement above party lines and politics.' He argued that the caste census was conducted in a legally sound and transparent manner, laying the groundwork for implementing BC reservations through legislation.
New Indian Express
17 hours ago
- New Indian Express
KCR held ‘directly accountable' for Kaleshwaram irregularities, PC Ghose Commission indicts ex-CM, ministers
HYDERABAD: If sources are to be believed, the report submitted by the PC Ghose Commission of Inquiry holds BRS president and former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao 'directly and vicariously accountable' for irregularities in the planning, execution, completion, and operation and maintenance (O&M) of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS). According to highly placed sources, the Commission reportedly found that the project was taken up without Cabinet approval and fixed responsibility on the then irrigation minister T Harish Rao and then finance minister Eatala Rajender. It also recommended the severest legal action against six irrigation engineers for deliberately misleading the Commission and for giving false depositions. The report noted that the then engineer-in-chief, C Muralidhar Rao, recently caught by the ACB, misrepresented facts to the Central Water Commission. One of the most serious findings relates to KCR's directive to continuously impound water in the barrages to full capacity for lifting through pump houses, despite barrages being designed as low-head diversion structures, not storage systems. This, the Commission stated, was a 'major cause for distress', linking it directly to the sinking of piers at the Medigadda barrage. The report flagged massive cost escalations, flawed designs and procedural lapses throughout the project's construction. The Commission, headed by former Supreme Court judge PC Ghose, described KLIS as a scheme marked by 'rampant and brazen procedural and financial irregularities'.
