Latest news with #JusticePCGhoseCommission
Hans India
4 days ago
- Hans India
Rectify Medigadda damages at your cost, Ghose panel to L&T
Hyderabad: Justice PC Ghose Commission has accused L& T company of obtaining a completion certificate from the authorities even as the Medigadda works, which it was to execute fully, remained incomplete. The commission, which investigated the irregularities in the construction of Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP), made it abundantly clear that it was the contract agency's responsibility to complete all pending works, including those pertaining to defect rectification and restoration of the 7th Block of Medigadda barrage, at its own cost. L&T constructed Medigadda barrage, the flagship of the KLIP. In its report, the commission said that: "L&T is not entitled to seek either the substantial construction completion certificate or the certificate of completion of works. It is held that the barrage works of Medigadda have not been completed and, for the reasons recorded in the report, the agency is liable to complete all the pending works, including defect rectification works and restoration works apart from restoration of the 7th block of Medigadda barrage, at its own cost". Further, the Ghose report said that in case the agency fails to act in this regard, the project authorities shall get the said works done and recover the amounts incurred thereupon from the defaulting agency as per the terms of the contract and in accordance with law. The agencies for the construction of Annaram and Sundilla barrages are also held liable to rectify the defects at their cost since they had not attended the same during Defect Liability Period (DLP) The commission said that totality of the facts and the analysis of the evidence led the Commission to the irresistible conclusion that the certificates of completion issued in respect of the Medigadda barrage were incorrect and unjustified. 'The defect liability period has not legally commenced as the structure was not complete in terms of the contract', it pointed out holding that the contractor is liable to repair the damage in accordance with the contractual terms at his cost. The commission observed that the totality of the facts revealed clinching evidence and explicitly prove the fact that the project authorities and the agency were hand in glove with each other and acted with concerted malicious intention in pursuit of their unfair and ulterior motive to unduly benefit and make unlawful gains from the huge amount of public money expended on the construction of Medigadda barrage.
New Indian Express
5 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Ghose panel report a ‘baseless plot': BRS leader Harish
HYDERABAD: Describing the Justice PC Ghose Commission report on the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS) as 'baseless, politically motivated, and a conspiracy,' former irrigation minister T Harish Rao on Tuesday emphatically stated that the project had Cabinet approval and was not an individual decision by former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao. To support the assertion of a collective decision, he displayed copies of Cabinet approvals for the three barrages. 'When the BRS returns to power, we would repair the two damaged piers of the Medigadda barrage and restore water supply to farmers,' he added. Making a PowerPoint presentation a day after the state Cabinet decided to table in the Assembly the report submitted by the PC Ghose Commission, Harish stated, 'It appears that the inquiry by the Commission was conducted in a conspiratorial manner.' The 665-page report held KCR, Harish and former finance minister Eatala Rajender responsible. It stated: 'The then finance minister remained a tacit perpetrator and the then irrigation minister allowed the chief minister to fulfil his desire.' The report also observed that the former chief minister acted not as the head of government but as the administrative executive himself.
Hans India
5 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project: Curtains on Medigadda?
Hyderabad: Is it going to be curtains on Medigadda barrage? It looks like so if the Justice PC Ghose Commission report on the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) is the criterion. Furthermore, Annaram and Sundilla barrages may also meet the same fate. For uninitiated, these three barrages are the key elements of the muti-purpose Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project, the redesigned version of erstwhile Pranahita Chevella Lift Irrigation Project (PCLIP) for which foundation stone was laid by then Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh YS Rajasekhara Reddy in 2008. While it was proposed to lift water from Pranahita river from Tummidihetti under PCLIP, the key location was shifted to Medigadda near Kaleshwaram in Bhupalpally district in 2016 by the then Chief Minister of Telangana and BRS president K Chandrashekar Rao, citing non-availability of adequate water at Tummidihetti. The Telangana government spent close to a whopping Rs 1 lakh crore on the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project after shifting the location, and constructed barrages at Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla. The Medigadda barrage is the crucial part of the redesigned project as entire water from Pranahita river is to be lifted from there with massive pumps. But interestingly, the Justice PC Ghose Commission which investigated into the irregularities in the construction of the Kaleshwaram project and misuse of public funds, found fault with the shifting of the location in the first place! This clearly shows that the fate of one of the biggest lift irrigation schemes in India is hanging in the balance now. Under these circumstances, the recommendation of the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) to the state government that it should go for repair of the sunken piers of Medigadda, and cracks developed in Sundilla and Annaram barrages will remain non-starter. Following the Ghose commission's report, which pinpointed the pitfalls during the construction of the Kaleshwaram project, including planning, design, execution and operation and maintenance, the state government has reportedly concluded that the project has turned into a non-performing asset and a white elephant for the state exchequer. The state Cabinet, which met on Monday, deliberated the Ghose Commission report at length and found that maintenance of the project would be a huge burden in the future. The Commission report was categorical that 'Kaleshwaram project, the intended lifeline for Telangana, has become a colossal waste of public money due to a profound failure of governance, planning, technical oversight, and financial discipline'. The report blamed the then chief minister, irrigation and finance ministers, irrigation officials and contract agencies from designing the project to its execution without following any scientific methodology. Officials said that the Ghose Commission found fault with the previous BRS government in every aspect of the execution of the project saying that it was unviable. The question of the existence of the Medigadda barrage is also crucial in the wake of the Congress government's proposal to construct a barrage at Tummidihetti by redesigning the project as per the earlier proposal of Pranahita Chevella Lift Irrigation Project. 'KCR abandoned Pranhita project and constructed Kaleshwaram project in the guise of redesigning and reengineering. Now, the Congress government is ready to construct Tummidihetti barrage by changing designs and scraping some barrages, pump sets and diversion of water through new canals and lifts. Though it is too early', said officials, while adding that the 'current government was developing a network for optimum utilisation of Godavari water through Tummidihatti'. However, the new proposal will not fructify until Maharashtra gives its nod for the construction of Tummidihetti barrage as there are some submergence issues. Meanwhile, irrigation experts, seeking anonymity, told The Hans India that the report released on Monday was more political in nature rather than technical. The technical aspects were not explained in detail. Instead, the commission compiled the statements of irrigation officials, experts and political leaders and drew its conclusions. The state government should make public the overwhelming 665-page report to understand the commission's technical understanding of the project, they pointed out. The Ghose panel should explain why the entire project was not viable and substantiate their findings with valid evidence and technicalities, they said.
NDTV
6 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
PC Ghose's Commission Report To Be Tabled In Telangana Assembly: Chief Minister Revanth Reddy
The Telangana government has decided to take action on the Justice P C Ghose Commission's report into the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme, but only after a detailed discussion in both the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council. This was announced by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy in a joint press conference on Monday after a cabinet meeting to discuss the report's findings. The cabinet, for the first time, met with the Kaleshwaram project as its sole agenda and formally approved the 665-page report. Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy, in a detailed presentation to the media, highlighted the key findings of the commission. The report, which was submitted to the government on July 31, holds former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao "directly and vicariously accountable" for the alleged irregularities as reported earlier by NDTV. According to Uttam Kumar Reddy, the report states that crucial decisions, including the site changes and administrative approvals for the Medigadda, Annaram, and Sundilla barrages, were made without cabinet approval, in violation of business rules. When former Chief Minister KCR, former irrigation minister Harish Rao, and former finance and planning minister Eatela Rajender had deposed before the commission, all three had insisted that all decisions were presented before the cabinet and all approvals were given by the cabinet. The commission found "rampant and brazen procedural and financial irregularities" from the project's conceptualization to its execution. The report also implicated several senior officers and engineers for their roles in the lapses. The commission identified 19 officials as liable for action. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy emphasised that the government's intention is not to pursue political vendetta. He stated that the government would table the report in the upcoming Assembly session to seek the opinion of all political parties before finalizing a course of action. This, he said, would ensure a transparent and democratic process to address the "colossal waste of public money" that the commission concluded the project had become.
Hans India
6 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Ghose panel faults KCR and team
Hyderabad: The Justice PC Ghose Commission of inquiry into the Kaleshwaram project has held former chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, former irrigation minister T Harish Rao , former Finance minister E Rajender and a bunch of senior officials, including the then Irrigation special Chief Secretary SK Joshi, responsible for the colossal waste of public money in the construction of the Kaleshwaram project. The Commission has observed in its report that Rao was directly and indirectly responsible for the irregularities in the project, right from its planning and construction to operation and maintenance of the barrages which are part of the project, sources said. The Commission pointed fingers also at former irrigation minister T Harish Rao, a nephew of KCR. A committee of experts had advised against taking up the Kaleshwaram project, but the BRS regime had 'intentionally suppressed' the report, they said. The sources said the officials had prepared a 60-page summary of the report, which runs into 665 pages. The summary mentioned the names of KCR 32 times, Harish Rao 19 times and former minister Eatala Rajender five times. Rajender is now a BJP Lok Sabha member. The report found Rajender, who was finance minister during the BRS regime, to be negligent, the sources said. Briefing the press after the Cabinet meeting, the Chief Minister, apparently enthused by the damning evidence against former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and ex-ministers, said that since the report was prepared by an independent judicial commission, the question of resorting to politics of vengeance did not arise. Going by the findings of the Commission highlighted in the report, the government will initiate action against those who were involved in the 'embezzlement of public money in the construction of the Kaleshwaram project.' Amplifying the key findings, Revanth Reddy said that former chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao redesigned the Pranahita -Chevella project and constructed Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages which were damaged within three months of the construction of the Kaleshwaram project. Although an expert committee had submitted a report against Kaleshwaram, KCR chose to go ahead with the construction of the barrages 'without any planning'. The Chief Minister recounted that, ahead of the Assembly elections, the Congress had promised that, if voted to power, the government would order a probe into the collapse of the Kaleshwaram project. Accordingly, the state government constituted a judicial commission to investigate the misuse of Rs one lakh crore in the construction of the project. Revanth Reddy said that the cabinet reviewed the 665-page Ghose Commission report as well as a summary of the report submitted after vetting by a three-member official committee.
