Leaders of all Opposition parties who attended a meeting of Telangana Joint Action Committee (T-JAC)to discuss lapses in execution of Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project voiced serious concerns over shifting of the project site from Tummidihatti to Medigadda and demanded a comprehensive inquiry.
The demand came from Telangana Congress committee president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, Telugu Desam - Telangana president L. Ramana, Telangana Jana Samiti president M. Kodandaram and others.
The meeting witnessed angry exchanges between the leaders and representatives of Telangana Retired Engineers Forum led by its general secretary M. Shyam Prasad Reddy when the merits of shifting the project site were discussed. Mr. Reddy took exception to a powerpoint presentation by T-JAC convenor K. Raghu that the project was an engineering blunder by the State government to consider inflows from Godavari and Manair as contributing to the yield of water at Medigadda.
Mr. Raghu argued that the government made a wrong estimate of 250 tmc ft water from Godavari and Manair and the streams and rivulets over 110 sq km of catchment between Tummidihatti and Medigadda. The fact, however, was that 165 tmc ft was available at Tummidihatti and another 30 tmc ft downstream of Tummidihatti up to Medigadda. Therefore, the project site should have been Tummidihatti which would have saved the huge expenditure of constructing barrages at Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla. He criticised re-pumping of water from Medigadda to Ellampally project which is along the course of the Godavari as it amounted to taking the water in reverse direction.
Mr. Shyam Prasad Reddy said the project design was changed on the Central Water Commission (CWC) advisory asking whether the project was viable from Tummidihatti to Chevella in the original design during Congress regime. A remark by him that the project site was shifted from Tummidihatti to Medigadda to convince the CWC to give clearance kicked off a protest from leaders. He said the clearance was obtained just like “candidates in elections produce figures of expenditure for submission to the Election Commission.”
Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy said all Detailed Project Reports submitted by government were bogus. CPI State secretary Chada Venkat Reddy and CPI (M) State committee member Sarampalli Malla Reddy demanded the government to take corrective steps at least now.
TJS president M. Kodandaram suggested an all party delegation to the Governor to highlight the lapses.
