Decode Politics: A ‘Telangana lifeline' project row that refuses to die, haunting KCR, BRS
The panel, which was set up by the A Revanth Reddy-led Congress government to probe alleged irregularities, negligence and lacunae in the design and construction of the Meddigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages, has held Rao – popularly known as KCR – accountable for the irregularities.
What is KLIP and what does it aim to achieve?
Sprawling on the Godavari over 500 km across 13 districts, with a canal network of 1,800 km, the KLIP is the world's largest multi-stage lift irrigation project. The Rs 80,000 crore project was inaugurated in June 2019.
According to the project master plan, of the 240 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) of the project's water, 169 TMC is meant for irrigation while 30 TMC is for the Hyderabad municipal area. A total of 16 TMC is meant for miscellaneous industrial uses, and 10 TMC is meant to provide drinking water to nearby villages.
The vast bulk of this water — 195 TMC — will come from the Medigadda Barrage. Twenty TMC will come from the Sripada Yellampalli project, and another 25 TMC will be groundwater
The project aims to provide drinking and irrigation water to about 45 lakh acres across 20 of the state's 31 districts, apart from Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
What started the investigation?
On October 21, 2023, pillar number 20 of block 7 of the Medigadda Barrage sank, leading to flooding. Four days later, a team of the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) examined the pillar and held a meeting with Larsen & Toubro, the firm executing the project.
On February 13 last year, the Congress government asked the NDSA to carry out a 'thorough inspection' of the design and construction of the three barrages. In March, the NDSA visited the three barrages.
On April 29, the Telangana government said that the NDSA had found 'lack of proper geo-technical investigations, design deficiencies construction defects, failure of modelling studies, structural distress, absence of robust quality control, operation and maintenance failures, (and that) dam safety aspects (had been) ignored'.
Around the same time, the Reddy government also constituted the Ghose panel, which was mandated with inquiring into who could be held responsible for the 'lapses'.
What are the Ghose Commission's findings?
While the full report of the panel is yet to be made public, the commission has held KCR 'solely responsible' for the decision to construct the three barrages.
The panel also observed that 'non-availability' of water at Tummidi Hetti was not a genuine reason for shifting the barrage to Meddigadda and said that the decisions of 'individuals' led to the shift.
'It can be said that there is rank irregularity from the stage of conceptualisation of Kaleshwaram project till the issuance of administrative approvals on March 1, 2016, for the construction of the three barrages. This is not the decision of the government but of individuals'.
Moreover, a retired engineers committee constituted by the BRS government had advised against the construction of a barrage at Medigadda, a recommendation that was set aside by KCR, the panel noted. 'It is abundantly clear that the government has not considered the report of the expert committee… The government under the then CM K Chandrashekar Rao and Harish Rao as the then Minister for Irrigation have not considered the report of the expert committee,' the report stated.
What are the likely political implications for the BRS?
Often referred to as 'Telangana's lifeline' and seen to be a brainchild of KCR himself, the NDSA's and Ghose panel's adverse reports on it has given the Congress an opportunity to corner the BRS.
'Both reports are non-political and show how the project has failed. KCR is solely responsible for the irregularities which led to the collapse of the barrage,' state Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy said.
The BRS, however, has questioned why the Congress government has not made the Ghose panel report public. Former state Agriculture Minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy said, 'Is it right to make political accusations even before the full report is made public? The panel was formed just to target KCR.'
BRS working president K T Rama Rao said that the project still irrigates vast tracts of land. 'It cannot be ruled out citing the sinking of just one pillar,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
14 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Ludhiana: Councillor alleges irregularities in vending zone relocation
Congress councillor from Ward 94, Bhupinder Kaur, has written to the ministry of housing and urban affairs, accusing the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation (MC) of misusing public funds in shifting a vending zone project from the West constituency to the North constituency. In her complaint, Kaur alleged that a ₹ 1.2-crore Smart City project sanctioned for Zone D was moved to Zone A without due approval. (HT Photo) In her complaint, Kaur alleged that a ₹1.2-crore Smart City project sanctioned for Zone D was moved to Zone A without due approval. She said work orders for the vending zone were issued on September 21, 2022, but the location was later changed in violation of rules. According to Kaur, the new site is unnecessary as a vegetable market already exists nearby. She claimed the relocation was done to benefit an acquaintance allegedly planning to set up an illegal slaughterhouse, and that the project is being built on a prohibited green belt. 'This is a clear misuse of Smart City funds. Public money is being spent on an unnecessary project at an unsuitable location, all for personal gain,' she stated, urging the ministry to stop construction and order an impartial inquiry. MC officials rejected the allegations, saying the project was relocated to provide more space for vendors and reduce congestion. 'The change was made in the interest of public convenience, and there is nothing unlawful about it,' said Shamlal Gupta, superintending engineer of the MC.
Indian Express
14 minutes ago
- Indian Express
For ‘creamy layer' exclusion, Govt looks at proposal on ‘equivalence' across govt organisations, pvt sector, universities
The government is learnt to be actively considering a proposal to apply the Other Backward Classes 'creamy layer' income exclusion yardstick to attain 'equivalence' among various Central and state government organisations, public sector enterprises, universities and private sector employees. It is learnt that the proposal has been prepared following consultations among the ministries of Social Justice and Empowerment, Education, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Legal Affairs, Labour and Employment, Public Enterprises, NITI Aayog and National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC). Following the landmark Indra Sawhney vs Union Of India ruling, also known as the Mandal verdict, by the Supreme Court in 1992, the concept of 'creamy layer' within the OBCs was introduced in the reservation policy. The 'creamy layer' criteria for those not in government jobs, set at Rs 1 lakh per annum in 1993, was revised in 2004, 2008, 2013. In 2017, the income ceiling was revised to Rs 8 lakh per annum and has remained so ever since. The 'creamy layer' specifies groups among OBCs such as persons occupying constitutional posts; Group-A/Class-I officers of All India Services, Central services and state services; Group-B/Class-II services of Centre and state; employees of PSUs; officers of armed forces; professionals and those from trade and industry; property owners; and an income/wealth test. While 'equivalence' in some Central PSUs was decided in 2017, it remained pending for the private sector as well as universities, educational institutions and different organisations of state governments. The OBCs of the 'non-creamy' layer are granted 27 per cent reservation in Central government recruitments as well as in admissions to educational institutions, based on the Mandal Commission recommendations. In state governments, this reservation percentage varies. In absence of such equivalence, there was difficulty in issuing caste certificates to OBCs. Sources said since the salary of teaching staff of universities, such as assistant professors, associate professors and professors, typically starts from Level 10 and above, which is equivalent to or higher than Group-A posts in the government, there is a proposal that these posts be categorised as 'creamy layer'. This means their children cannot avail benefits of OBC reservation. In the private sector, given the vast gamut of categories of posts and pay and perquisites, it has been noted that it is difficult to establish the equivalence. It is proposed that this can be determined based on the income/wealth criteria. For Central/state autonomous bodies and Central/state statutory organisations, sources said it is proposed to establish equivalence with the list of Central government officials, depending on their level/group/pay scale, as the case may be, because they also adopt the pay scales of respective categories in Central and state governments. Similarly, non-teaching staff of universities are proposed to be placed as creamy layer depending on their level/group/pay scale as the case may be. For state PSUs, it is proposed that as in the case of equivalence in Central PSUs in 2017, all executive level positions, including board-level executives as well as below board-level executives holding managerial positions, are to be treated as under the 'creamy layer' category. However, in their case, a rider has been proposed that those executives whose income is within Rs 8 lakh, which is presently the limit for private persons, will not be categorised as 'creamy layer'. For government-aided institutions, it is proposed that as they generally follow the service conditions and pay scales of the respective Central or state government, the staff in aided institutions may be placed under appropriate categories based on the equivalence of their post and service conditions and pay scales/level. Sources said a large number of cases are pending before the Supreme Court and various High Courts regarding the ambiguity and, therefore, clarity is a must. 'The proposal entails empowerment of OBCs by way of their coverage which will widen the employment opportunities for OBCs,' a top source said, adding that 'by widening the scope of opportunities for OBCs in employment, it will support Atmanirbhar Bharat.'
India Today
14 minutes ago
- India Today
Bihar woman shown as '124-year-old' in voter roll fumes at poll body, Opposition MPs
Minta Devi, a Bihar resident who was allegedly listed as a 124-year-old woman on the Election Commission's voter list, slammed those who committed the clerical error and also questioned the Opposition MPs who protested over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) by wearing T-shirts featuring her name and alleged also said that if the government really thinks she is 124-years-old, they should start extending the benefits of an old-age pension to Devi is a 35-year-old woman living in Bihar's Siwan district and has been added to the state's electoral roll for the first time years after she became eligible to cast a vote. She claimed she was born on July 15, 1990 and submitted documents supporting the same while filing papers to get herself enroled. Her reaction came on a day when INDIA bloc MPs led by Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi protested in New Delhi against SIR in Bihar and wore T-shirts featuring a picture of Minta Devi with "124 not out" printed on them."Who are they (Opposition MPs) to me? Who is Priyanka Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi to me? Who gave them the right to wear t-shirts featuring my face? Why are they trying to act like my well-wishers over my age? This should not be done. I do not want this," Devi fumed while speaking to also demanded that her age and other details in the state's electoral data be corrected as soon as possible and the same people who committed the error be made to rectify it. "I will not submit any more documents to get this corrected as it was not me who is at fault; The officials are".PROTESTS AGAINST SIRThere have been widespread protests over the voter roll revision in poll-bound Bihar, with INDIA bloc parties alleging that the Election Commission was colluding with the ruling BJP by cherry-picking voters to remove their names as per their charges have been vehemently denied by the poll panel, who has been emphasising that complete transparency was ensured while revising the voter roll data in the Monday, while Parliament was functioning during the Monsoon Session, Opposition MPs led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi staged a protest march to the Election Commission's office against Bihar voter data revision, calling it an attempt to kill democracy. Several MPs were detained during the 243-member Bihar Legislative Assembly is scheduled to go to the polls later this year, most likely in October or November.- EndsWith agency inputsMust Watch IN THIS STORY#Bihar
