Hyderabad: The Forum for Good Governance (FGG) has raised concerns about the Palamuru Rangareddy project, claiming that it was shifted due to a political decision without considering its technical feasibility. As a result, the project has become a financial burden for the state. The FGG has urged Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to launch an inquiry and take action against those responsible for wasting taxpayer money on the project.
According to FGG president M Padmanabha Reddy, the Engineering Staff College of India (ESCI) was originally tasked with preparing the Detailed Project Report (DPR). The initial plan was to lift water from the Jurala project, with an estimated cost of Rs 32,200 crore. However, the then Chief Minister, K Chandrashekar Rao, decided to shift the project site from Jurala to Srisailam, and directed ESCI to revise the DPR quickly. Without conducting a proper field survey, ESCI prepared a revised report in just two weeks, offering two options to lift water from Srisailam.
During a meeting on May 21, 2015, the Chief Minister approved the second option and suggested reducing the height of the water lift. He also directed the creation of a new reservoir at Karvena. The FGG president criticized this process, stating that important technical decisions were made by politicians rather than engineers.
The FGG further highlighted that due to poor planning and defective construction, the pump house at Vattem was submerged in September 2024, damaging the pumps. The project, which began in 2015 with the aim of being completed in three years, has been delayed significantly, with no clear completion date in sight. The cost of the project has risen to Rs 50,000 crore, up from the original estimate of Rs 32,200 crore. By the end of September 2024, Rs 31,850 crore had already been spent, yet no water had been released for irrigation.
FGG president Padmanabha Reddy emphasized that political interference was evident throughout the project. He claimed that senior officers and engineers agreed to the decisions made by politicians, fearing the consequences of opposing them.
