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BRS govt followed engineers' advice on KLIS: Harish to Ghose panel
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Hyderabad: Former irrigation minister T Harish Rao has staunchly defended the BRS govt's decisions on Kaleshwaram project, asserting they were backed by technical recommendations, cabinet approvals, and driven by ground realities, including inter-state constraints.
Deposing before the Justice (retired) PC Ghose Commission of Inquiry on Monday, Harish Rao, who held the irrigation portfolio between 2014 and 2018, clarified that the former BRS govt had shifted the Kaleshwaram project location from Tummidihatti to Medigadda based on expert committee advice, water availability, and political hurdles with neighbouring Maharashtra.
"The Central Water Commission itself said the proposed water availability at Tummidihatti was not feasible.
Of the 160 tmcft expected, 63 tmcft had already been allocated to upstream states. The CWC even wrote to the state to reconsider the proposal," Harish Rao said during the 40-minute hearing, conducted in English and Hindi. He supported his statements with a line diagram of the project.
He added that an expert committee of retired engineers had also flagged concerns over Tummidihatti's viability. "The idea was to irrigate 16 lakh acres, but even the engineering committee recommended creating artificial reservoirs instead," he said.
The ex-minister also highlighted Maharashtra's strong opposition to the barrage at 152 metres elevation due to submergence and local resistance. "Despite several rounds of meetings with Maharashtra ministers and even their then CM Devendra Fadnavis, who candidly remarked that even when the Congress was in power, both in state and at the Centre, they could not push this project through for seven years. How could we have succeeded where they failed, given the local anger," Harish Rao said.
He maintained the eventual decision to shift to Medigadda and reconfigure Annaram and Sundilla barrages was guided by a Water and Power Consultancy Services (WAPCOS) survey and recommendations from both serving and retired engineers. "Even major projects like Nagarjuna Sagar, SRSP, and the recent Kanthanpally saw location changes after field surveys — so such revisions were not unprecedented," he said.
On the barrage failures, Harish Rao distanced the political executive from operational decisions.
"Filling up of barrages was entirely a decision of field-level engineers and the irrigation department. The govt had no role in that," he claimed.
When asked about the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Corporation, Harish Rao confirmed that it was created as a special purpose vehicle to raise loans. "The initial plan was to generate revenue through water tariffs from industries, but Covid-19 disrupted that. The state then stepped in with budgetary support, and the govt never defaulted," he said.
Harish Rao also pointed out that all decisions regarding Kaleshwaram—barrage locations, project structure, and KLIC formation—had cabinet backing. "Some decisions, especially on technical grounds, were made on the advice of engineers. Govts cannot override technical feasibility," he reiterated.
His deposition comes at a time when the BRS is under political fire following structural failures in the prestigious multi-purpose Kaleshwaram project, which was often showcased by the party as a symbol of Telangana's irrigation resurgence.
