Hyderabad: The Justice Ghose Commission, which is investigating the Kaleshwaram project, will speed up its inquiry into the Medigadda barrage starting from Friday. As part of this, around 20 senior officials from the irrigation department have been summoned for a final round of open hearings. Among those expected to appear before the commission are former Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, retired Irrigation officials SK Joshi and Rajath Kumar, retired chief engineer Murlidhar Rao, and other senior irrigation engineers.
The commission’s tenure has been extended until October 31. Officials mentioned that the Ghose Commission will soon conclude its hearings on the affidavits submitted by these top officials. This will allow the commission to finalize its report on the damages caused last year to the Medigadda, Sundilla, and Annaram barrages. In the meantime, Justice Ghose has also held meetings with an expert committee, asking them for additional findings related to the condition of the barrages.
Additionally, the commission plans to seek assistance from the state Finance department to better understand the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, which highlighted possible corruption in the multi-crore Kaleshwaram lift irrigation scheme. If necessary, the commission may arrange a meeting with officials from the state CAG office to clarify certain points.
The Ghose Commission has also asked for details about the five-member committee formed by the KCR government to evaluate the viability of the Pranahita project. The commission aims to determine whether the Kaleshwaram project was designed as an alternative to Pranahita or if Chief Minister KCR launched Kaleshwaram to replace an earlier proposal from the Congress party.
Lastly, the commission is expected to request information from irrigation officials about the status of structures built under the Pranahita project to assess the financial impact on the state.
