Congress leader A. Revanth Reddy has accused the Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao of misleading people on the Kaleshwaram project and challenged him for an open debate at any place he wishes to have.
At a press conference here, Mr. Reddy reiterated his allegations that the Kaleshwaram project would be a huge burden on Telangana’s future generations and “re-designed only to make money”. He said both -- Mission Bhageeratha and Kaleshwaram re-designing -- were not mentioned in the TRS manifesto and were taken up after coming to power with an eye to make money.
He said if Kaleshwaram is completed, the cost of each acre to be irrigated will be at ₹ 1.54 lakhs. He asked whether the experts had advised against the barrage at Medigadda was right or wrong. When the project cost goes up from ₹34,000 crore to ₹84,000 crore, the Congress will definitely question. Instead of answering the apprehensions raised by the Congress, Mr. Harish Rao is attacking the Congress, he alleged.
Mr. Reddy charged that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao gave away 3 lakh acres for Polavaram blindly but has failed to convince Maharashtra on the 1800 acres that would have submerged in Pranahita Chevella project.
He alleged that ₹ 12 lakhs per acre was being compensated only for the lands belonging to Mr. Harish Rao and not the poor farmers.
