The Justice Chandra Ghose Commission is investigating why the previous government in Telangana decided to cancel the Pranahita – Chevella lift irrigation project and instead implement the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation scheme. The commission has requested the government to provide all information regarding the reasons for scrapping the Pranahita project.
The Pranahita Chevella project was initially planned by the Congress government in united Andhra Pradesh to supply drinking water and meet irrigation needs in certain districts. However, after the state was split, the new government in Telangana abandoned this project and opted for the Kaleshwaram scheme instead, which cost a significant amount of money.
The commission will focus on comparing the agreements made for the Pranahita project with Maharashtra and the agreements made for the Kaleshwaram project. They will analyze factors such as expenditure, available water resources, land acquisition, submergence in different states, and economic feasibility of both projects.
The commission is particularly interested in understanding why the KCR government chose to cancel the Pranahita project and pursue the Kaleshwaram scheme instead. They will examine data from both projects, as well as information from a committee set up by the KCR government to study the viability of Pranahita.
Officials suspect that Kaleshwaram may have been seen as an alternative to Pranahita, or that it was implemented simply to replace the Congress proposal. The commission will also look into the status of structures built under Pranahita to determine any financial impact on the state.
