What was said in the opposition is one thing; what is being done after coming to power appears to be entirely different. Within the Congress party itself, there is growing discussion that the Kaleshwaram project has become a “ready-made ATM” for Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. A new trend seems to be taking shape—allegedly committing fresh irregularities through past scams. There is widespread debate that, instead of thoroughly investigating scams of previous governments, taking action, and recovering illegally earned money, those who come to power are extracting their own share from the very same projects. The Kaleshwaram project, taken up during the tenure of Bharat Rashtra Samithi, was earlier accused of becoming an “ATM” for that party. Both the Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre and the Congress party, while in opposition in the state, made strong allegations to this effect and promised strict action once in power.
However, after the Revanth Reddy government assumed office, a commission led by Justice P. C. Ghose was set up to probe the Kaleshwaram project. According to official sources, the commission’s scope notably excludes key issues such as inflated project estimates and large-scale corruption. Instead, its terms of reference are limited to alleged irregularities, corruption, and design flaws in the Medigadda, Annaram, and Sundilla barrages. Significantly, the government has overlooked allegations related to one of the largest components of the project—the motors and pumps. Critics allege that this is being done to protect contractors involved, and that influential figures in the Congress government have effectively turned the project into a ready-made ATM.
Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar has also alleged that while Kaleshwaram earlier served as an ATM for BRS, the Congress is now doing the same. Another crucial point is that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has stated the project cannot be abandoned, as nearly ₹1 lakh crore of public money has already been spent on it. This raises serious questions: If major flaws surfaced in a project costing such an enormous amount even before five years of completion, why has responsibility not been fixed? Why has no action been taken against those involved in alleged corruption? Despite this, the government is now preparing to spend hundreds of crores more on repairs.
Whether this expenditure will remain in the hundreds of crores or escalate into thousands of crores remains to be seen. No one argues that a project built with such massive public funds should be left unused. However, what is drawing criticism—even from within the ruling party—is that, despite being in power for over two and a half years, the government has neither identified those responsible for corruption nor acted against individuals whom Chief Minister Revanth Reddy himself had strongly criticized in the past.