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Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Medigadda a major ‘financial conspiracy': V&E report
1 2 Hyderabad: A detailed report by the vigilance and enforcement (V&E) department has uncovered what it termed a "major financial conspiracy" in the construction of the Medigadda barrage, which is part of the state's ambitious Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project. The report covers construction activities from April 2015 to Oct 2023 and alleges a series of 'intentional' violations, procedural lapses, and unauthorised financial decisions. Senior officials in the irrigation and command area development (I&CAD), and finance departments are accused of colluding to push through flawed approvals and irregular payments, resulting in serious structural failures and significant losses to the public exchequer. The V&E report listed 18 major lapses, highlighting how assurances made during chief minister-level review meetings were misused to justify estimate revisions, design changes, and unapproved payments. A key example is a CM-level meeting held on Dec 9, 2017. Though its instructions were recorded and circulated by the principal secretary of I&CAD, the department failed to verify or adhere to these directions while processing revised estimates (RE), the report alleged. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like People Born 1940-1975 With No Life Insurance Could Be Eligible For This Reassured Get Quote Undo Both the I&CAD and finance departments were found to have negligently circulated and approved files related to RE-I and RE-II without proper scrutiny, leading to major financial implications. According to the report, these deviations were deliberate and not accidental. Project officials used govt approvals to push contractor-favourable proposals, benefiting the contractor, L&T-PES (Private Limited and Engineering) JV, the report alleged and said these were fast-tracked without evaluation, opening the door for misappropriation of public funds. Engineering violations At the project execution level, the report alleged serious breaches of standard engineering protocols. Initial investigations and surveys failed to meet standards set by the Central Board of Irrigation and Power (CBIP). Foundational designs were reportedly compromised due to the use of incomplete geo-technical data, which field engineers and the chief design officer alleged to have accepted without question. A major concern was the construction of secant piles, critical for the barrage's stability. According to L&T's own construction protocol, secondary piles should be placed within 1-2 days of primary ones. However, this was delayed by up to 45 days, and the quality control team had failed to intervene. The superintending engineer allowed the work to continue without verifying the agency's qualifications, the report alleged. Another serious lapse was the removal of cofferdams and sheet piles—a task contractually assigned to the contractor. Instead of ensuring this was completed, officials included a post-facto ₹61.2 crore provision for cofferdam works in RE-II, after the barrage had already been inaugurated. This move enabled illegal payments, the report said. Cofferdams were also not dismantled to pre-construction levels, disturbing the natural flow of the Godavari river and putting the barrage at further risk. The report categorised this as criminal negligence requiring legal action. Further negligence was noted in the failure to remove overburden upstream of the barrage, despite warnings from 2D and 3D model studies by the Telangana State Engineering Research Laboratories (TSERL). This oversight changed the river's flow dynamics and contributed to structural damage downstream, the report highlighted. Undue financial advantage Some of these violations not only reflect administrative failure but also suggest deliberate attempts to extend undue financial advantages to the contractor at the state's expense, the report alleged. The V&E department concluded that the missteps taken from the start of the redesign in April 2015 to the barrage's structural failure on Oct 21, 2023, reflected a pattern of deliberate negligence, policy breaches, and financial misconduct. The report also called for strong disciplinary and legal action against the principal secretaries of the I&CAD and finance departments, chief engineer, and all subordinate officials involved throughout the project's planning, approval, and execution phases. Can go as gfx or box Alleged violation of financial sanctions Hyderabad: The V&E report highlighted a pattern of financial violations that reportedly harmed the state's interests in the execution of the mega project. Some of the points raised by the department include: Retention bank guarantees were released prematurely to the contractor, before project completion. This deprived the state of a financial safeguard and caused a direct loss of ₹22.9 crore in interest. The chief engineer violated a GO (dated Feb 20, 2016) by unilaterally approving deviations of up to 15% without informing the govt. A completion certificate was issued for ₹3,348 crore, even though ₹238 crore worth of work remained incomplete. An additional ₹367 crore was paid for new or excess items beyond RE-I, without any formal govt approval. A total of ₹259 crore was approved above RE-I's sanctioned ₹2,933 crore, also without proper permission. These payments were processed even before RE-II had been formally sanctioned. A ₹39 crore claim was made under the pretext of excess dewatering.
The Hindu
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Medigadda Barrage collapse: 17 officials to face criminal charges and 33 disciplinary action
The State Vigilance Commission has advised the government to initiate criminal proceedings against some 50 serving and retired officials, as well as the contracting agency L&T Precision Engineering Systems (L&T-PES) blaming them for the collapse of the Medigadda barrage of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project. The suggestions were based on the Vigilance Report dated March 5, 2025, submitted by the DG, Vigilance & Enforcement (V&E), Hyderabad, highlighting lapses in design, supervision, quality control, and execution of the Medigadda barrage works. The sinking of Block No. 7 of the barrage resulted in massive financial losses to the State exchequer and also political slugfest. The Commission directed the Irrigation and Command Area Development (I&CAD) department to initiate major disciplinary proceedings against 33 officials, including engineers and Finance department officials, for procedural and supervisory lapses. They include Bhupathi Raju Nagendra Rao, Todupunoori Srinivas, V. Phanibhushan Sharma, Mohd. Ajmal Khan, Kotte Sudhakar Reddy, Sudagoni Sathyanarayana, B. Venkata Ramana Reddy, Sardar Omkar Singh, Ch. Thirupathi Rao, Banothu Nanda, Ajmeera Suresh Kumar, P. Shravan Kumar, K. S. S. Chandra Sekhar, H. Baswaraj, Thoutam Hemalatha, Ankilla Ravikanth, R. Vijay, G. Gangadhar, G. Saicharan, M. Prasad, Merugu Raju, B. Ganesh, Md. Ismail Sajid, P. A. Venkata Krishna, K. Devender Reddy, M. Raghu Ram, B. Kiran Kumar, A. Krishna Mohan, G. Krishna Reddy, E. Sukumar, P. Shravan Kumar, L. Bheema Raju, Vali Shaik and Boge Srinivas. Penalty proceedings should be initiated against seven retired senior officials under the Telangana Civil Services (Conduct and Appeal) Rules, the Commission said. They include Cheeti Muralidhar, Engineer-in-Chief (General) (I&CAD), N. Venkateshwarlu, Engineer-in-Chief, Kaleshwaram Project, Gajjela Hari Hara Chary, Deputy Chief Engineer, Kaleshwaram Project, B. Venkateshwarlu, Chief Engineer, Quality Control & Inspection, I&CAD, Chatla Gangadhar, V. Ajaya Kumar and A. Narender Reddy. Criminal proceedings were suggested against 17 officers and the Agency L&T-PES, whose action led to the sinking of the Medigadda barrage, as well as causing huge financial loss to the Government exchequer. The 17 are among the 33 already picked up for disciplinary and penalty proceedings. The contractor, L&T-PES, has also come under scrutiny for violating key terms of the supplemental agreement and for faulty execution of secant pile foundations, which directly led to the sinking of the barrage structure. The Commission said that the L&T-PES agency will be liable to bear the full cost of replacing Block No. 7. The agency was also accused of claiming project completion despite glaring deficiencies, and failure to meet safety and structural norms. The Commission also called for accountability of higher officials, including Principal Secretaries of the I&CAD and Finance departments, who approved deviations and financial proposals during the period of redesign and execution from April 2015 to October 2023. Suggesting reforms for such dealings in the future, the Commission issued directives to the I&CAD, Finance department, and GAD. They include scrupulous adherence to norms and contract conditions, mandatory joint inspections, revision approvals for design changes, comprehensive model studies by third-party experts, record-keeping on contractor equipment deployment to counter false claims and enforcement of work insurance provisions aligned with updated estimates.
New Indian Express
27-05-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
L&T claims ‘certain inconsistencies' in NDSA report on Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme
HYDERABAD: The L&T-PES joint venture, the contracting agency for the Medigadda barrage, has cited 'certain inconsistencies' in the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) report on the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme and asked the Authority to update it. In a letter to the irrigation superintending engineer of the Ramagundam circle, L&T stated that the NDSA's conclusions were contradictory and urged an updated version of the report. The company said that while the NDSA report offered justification for its findings on structural inadequacies, it did not clearly present any evidence of a lack of quality control. L&T referred to point five of the executive summary of the report, which stated that the original ground conditions and the state of structures could not be assessed due to premature grouting, which altered critical sub-surface geotechnical conditions beneath the raft and along the secant pile cut-offs. 'However, in contrast, page 283 of Chapter 11.2 noted that the Quality Management Programme (QMP) documents had been submitted by the construction agency, and that these documents helped project teams establish quality planning, quality control, and assurance procedures,' the letter said. L&T also cited pages 64 and 65 of the report, which acknowledged that grouting activities carried out by the Irrigation and CAD department had altered the upstream and downstream plinth slabs and secant piles, making it impossible to evaluate their original condition. 'Additionally, page 145 of Chapter 6 noted that premature grouting was performed before seismic investigations could be conducted, resulting in the loss of information regarding the secant pile cut-offs and parametric joints,' the letter said. With regard to the observation on quality control, L&T referred to its responses to 31 questions submitted to the NDSA on March 29, 2024. 'Despite this, the NDSA's executive summary, point 13, stated that no quality control procedures had been implemented to ensure the watertightness of the cut-off walls,' the letter said, claiming that this contradicted the report's own earlier observations and the submitted documents.
Hans India
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
BJP MLA raises questions over govt footing repair bills for Kaleshwaram proj
Hyderabad: Sirpur MLA Dr Palavai Harish Babu questioned whether the government would cover the costs of renovation and repairs for the Kaleshwaram project. Addressing the media on Sunday, the BJP Chief Whip Dr Palavai Harish Babu posed the question to Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy. 'On one hand, there is a discussion about corruption in the Kaleshwaram project. On the other hand, contractors have sent a letter to the government requesting that it bear the entire cost of the renovation, which raises many doubts,' he added. He noted that two days ago, L&T-PES, the construction company behind the Medigadda Barrage, and APCONS, the construction company for the Annaram Barrage, wrote to the government asking for the full cost of renovation for Medigadda, Sundilla, and Annaram barrages in Kaleshwaram to be covered. The contractors have indicated that conducting tests as per the NDSA recommendations on the barrages will cost up to Rs 40 crore, which they want the government to cover. This is evidence of the government's incompetence, he said. While the Chief Minister and the Irrigation Minister claim they will eliminate irregularities and corruption in the Kaleshwaram project and recover wasted government funds, it is absurd that the contractors are expecting the government to cover the restoration costs. Further, reports indicate that the final bill for Annaram and Sundilla is Rs 176 crore, and the contractor has demanded Rs. 4.5 crore for work completed according to NDSA recommendations, along with a bank guarantee of Rs 43 crore. If the government covers the entire restoration cost without addressing the corruption in Kaleshwaram, it would be an additional burden on the people. The reconstruction of the seventh block in Kaleshwaram and the repairs of the Sundilla and Annaram barrages, as per the NDSA report, is estimated to cost an additional Rs 10,000 crore. He asked if the government would bear this entire cost. The final bill for the Medigadda barrage has not yet been approved. The government should refrain from rushing to pay this final bill until the restoration of Kaleshwaram is complete. Irrigation Minister Sri Uttam Kumar Reddy stated that the irrigation department currently pays Rs 16,000 crore annually for loans and interest. He said that if the restoration costs for Kaleshwaram fall on the government, 'there is a risk of the state going bankrupt.' he said. 'On behalf of the BJP legislature and party, we demand that the government take action against the corruption in Kaleshwaram and recover funds from the responsible contractors and the leaders of the previous government,' he said.
The Hindu
25-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
BJP slams govt. over KLIS repair costs, demands recovery from errant parties
HYDERABAD BJP Chief Whip and Sirpur MLA Palvai Harish Babu has demanded clarification from Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy regarding the cost incurred for repair and restoration of the Medigadda Barrage and other barrages of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP). According to Mr. Harish Babu, contractors involved in the project, including L&T-PES and Afcons, have written a letter demanding that the government bear the entire cost of renovation. In a statement here on Sunday, he warned that if the government bears the entire cost of reconstruction without exposing the corruption, it will burden people. The estimated repair cost will be around ₹10,000 crore, he said. The contractors are demanding reimbursement for work to be done as per NDSA recommendations, which could cost up to ₹40 crore. Mr. Harish Babu also slammed BRS leaders, including former CM K Chandrasekhar Rao and former Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao, for reportedly refusing to attend the Judicial Commission's inquiry into the fiasco. He also demanded action against companies involved in the project, and sought recovery of funds from responsible parties. Government should stop the final bill payment for Medigadda Barrage until KLIP's restoration is complete, he said.
