28-05-2025
KCR to appear before Ghose panel on June 5
Hyderabad: Former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao will appear before Justice PC Ghose Commission of inquiry probing the Kaleshwaram project issue on June 5.
The commission is making arrangements in the office to record his statements as regards the damages at Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages and alleged corruption in the construction of the multi-crore Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation project. Rao informed his readiness to appear before the commission on Tuesday.
Sources said that Justice Ghose will quiz the BRS chief for at least five hours on the first day. The questioning will continue for another two days.
The panel will seek his clarifications on the recorded statements of irrigation officials, former secretaries of the irrigation department and retired officials, who were part of the engineering team during the construction of the project.
Till date, the commission has grilled more than 50 irrigation officials, including the retired engineers-in-chief, who had executed the works pertaining to the Kaleshwaram lift scheme. Most of the irrigation officials admitted that KCR had finalised the designs of the three damaged barrages.
Central Design Organisation officials from the department have submitted evidence to the panel on the project design changes, at the behest of KCR.
KCR would be asked to come clear on mobilisation of advances, taking loans at exorbitant interest rates from central funding agencies and his role in the financial management of the entire project. His explanation on the findings in the NDSA final report and the Vigilance and Enforcement department report on Medigadda would also be recorded.
The commission has already prepared 90 per cent of the report (nearly 400 pages) and the remaining part will be completed soon after KCR, then irrigation minister T Harish Rao and former finance minister Eatala Rajendar depose by July.
