In a major development, the Justice P.C. Ghosh Commission has submitted a critical report to the Telangana government, holding former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) chiefly responsible for the massive irregularities in the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project. The report, handed over on July 31, has set off ripples across political and administrative circles in the state.
Soon after receiving the report, the state government formed a separate internal committee to examine the findings and prepare a condensed version. A 10-page summary report is now ready and will be placed before the cabinet for discussion and potential action.
According to the Commission’s report, KCR was directly responsible for major decisions during the project—right from the change of the original site at Thummidihatti to award of contracts. The report highlights that some of these decisions were taken without due process, disregarding rules and defying the recommendations of expert organizations like WAPCOS.
One of the key highlights of the report is that key administrative clearances were sidestepped. A lot of decisions were made without cabinet approval, triggering allegations of procedural lapses and nondisclosure during the rule of KCR.
The report doesn’t stop with KCR. Former Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao and then-Finance Minister Etela Rajender have also been named for their roles in the mismanagement. Top bureaucrat Smita Sabharwal is accused of breaching protocol, while multiple engineering officials have been held accountable. Significantly, three engineers have already been arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) for possessing disproportionate assets.
As the revelations from the Commission are now on record, it is anticipated that the Telangana Cabinet will consider the repercussions of the report. There are suggestions that the government will bring forward the report to the members of the Assembly and could launch criminal proceedings, representing a major escalation in one of the most controversial infrastructure cases in Telangana.
