The Telangana Rashtra Samiti Government has advised the opposition parties to approach appropriate forums like the courts of Central Vigilance Commission if they had concrete proof of irregularities in the ongoing schemes like Mission Bhagiratha rather than making “baseless” allegations.
The offer came as part of the debate on Mission Bhagiratha which was taken up under short discussion raised a furore in the Assembly on Tuesday with the Opposition Congress raising charges of irregularities in the project design and the ruling TRS rebutting them as baseless and without valid proofs.
The more than four-hour debate witnessed trading of charges and counter-charges between the ruling and the main Opposition parties over the alleged corruption during the Congress regime in the united Andhra Pradesh and the amount of favouritism being exhibited by the present dispensation.
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The discussion took a serious turn with Congress member N. Uttam Kumar Reddy daring the ruling party to order an inquiry by the Central Vigilance Commission if it was firm on its claim that no irregularities took place in the award of works. “The present dispensation has entrusted all the major works to contractors hailing from Andhra Pradesh and the entire works under Mission Bhagiratha smacked of corruption,” he said.
Municipal Administration Minister K.T. Rama Rao charged the Opposition parties, the Congress in particular, with indulging in mud-slinging against the Government which was committed to provide irrigation for one crore acres ayacut and drinking water to every household in the State. “We are not prepared to take the charges lying down. We will not go back on claiming damages for such charges,” he asserted.
He was responding to the charges of corruption in the design of the intake wells of Mission Bhagratha at the behest of Mr. Rama Rao. In a spirited reply, Mr. Rama Rao recalled how the 10-year dispensation of the Congress at the State and Central levels was marked with rampant corruption. He alleged that the Congress regime had helped select contractors to flourish and these contractors were participating in bids across the country at present. The Telangana Government had, therefore, decided to encourage contractors hailing from the State and had decided to ensure that a major portion of the sub-contracts was awarded to them.
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“This will help them grow in stature and participate in the national projects in the coming days. In addition, the Government had taken steps to ensure that manufacturers of pipes from Telangana are benefitted by making it mandatory to procure a specific number of pipes required for the projects from them,” he said.