Hyderabad: NVSS Prabhakar, Vice-President of the Telangana BJP and former MLA, criticized former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao for avoiding responsibility for the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) issues. He claimed Rao is trying to shift blame onto engineers appearing before the P C Ghose Commission, which investigates problems at the Medigadda, Annaram, and Sundilla barrages. Prabhakar insisted the project’s site change to Medigadda was a political decision approved by the cabinet.
On Sunday, Prabhakar spoke to the media, stating that the BJP is waiting for the P.C. Ghose Commission’s report. He emphasized that those responsible for KLIP’s irregularities will be held accountable and demanded a CBI inquiry for clarity.
Prabhakar accused Rao, head of the BRS party, of ignoring the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) warnings. Instead of fixing project errors, Rao allowed KLIP to continue, leading to losses. Prabhakar criticized Rao for claiming the cabinet’s decisions were based on irrigation experts’ recommendations. He argued that Rao, as the government leader, should accept responsibility rather than blaming others.
Prabhakar pointed out that the Kaleshwaram project moved from Tummadihatti to Medigadda. He noted that the Congress started work at Tummadihatti before BRS took charge. BRS later changed the site and increased costs significantly without proper tenders for Medigadda works. Prabhakar questioned Rao about issues like column shrinkage, pump motor failures, and canal breaches.
Additionally, Prabhakar accused the state Congress, led by Revanth Reddy, of not conducting local body elections after 18 months in power. He urged them to announce an election schedule immediately.
