Kaleshwaram Project: Who Will Pay for the Mistakes?
Who was responsible for the mistakes in the Kaleshwaram project? Was it the leaders who were in power at the time, or the construction company? The project was officially inaugurated in June 2019. However, before it could even complete five full years of operation, serious structural defects came to light at the Medigadda Barrage. This triggered a major political storm in Telangana and also emerged as one of the key reasons for the BRS's defeat in the last elections. Now, the Revanth Reddy-led government in Telangana is preparing to undertake the restoration of the damaged barrages, with an estimated expenditure of more than Rs. 4,000 crore. A project built at a cost of nearly Rs. 1 lakh crore certainly needs to be restored, and all necessary arrangements must be made to ensure that farmers receive water. However, the most important question here is: Who should pay for whose mistakes?
Criticism is being voiced that the conduct of senior Congress government leaders gives the impression that, after allegedly taking their share in the earlier scam, they are now preparing to launch another scam. Otherwise, questions are being raised as to why the Congress government has not taken action against anyone so far in such a massive alleged scam. Another important issue is that, despite acknowledging that irregularities took place in the Kaleshwaram project and publicly pointing out serious failures in the approval of designs and other aspects, everyone responsible has been allowed to go scot-free. There is also discussion in official circles that behind-the-scenes deals could be the reason for this.
Setting aside all these issues, the government is now preparing to spend another Rs. 4,000 crore of public money on the project. Even after this expenditure, whether the problems associated with Kaleshwaram will come to a permanent end remains uncertain, according to engineering experts. There have already been allegations that the BRS government spent an excessively large amount on the Kaleshwaram project. When structural defects emerge in a project built at a cost of Rs. 1 lakh crore even before completing five years, no action has been taken against either the construction companies, the political leaders responsible for the massive misuse of public money, or senior officials. However, the Revanth Reddy government is now preparing to spend thousands of crores of rupees on repairs.
This has triggered severe criticism of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy as well as Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy. Interestingly, reports suggest that the government is preparing to award the restoration works through the nomination process to the very same companies that constructed these barrages earlier. Allegations are also emerging from official circles that some people are planning to exploit the restoration works for financial gain. Leaders who had earlier warned that those responsible would face action and that the companies would be blacklisted now appear to have settled everything and reopened the door for fresh deals, according to allegations being heard from within the department itself.
