The investigation by the Justice P.C. Ghosh Commission into the irregularities in the Kaleshwaram project has unearthed several startling revelations. Former State CDO (Central Design Organization) E.N.C. Narender Reddy testified before the commission that he was pressured by then Chief Minister KCR and Irrigation Minister Harish Rao to approve the project designs. He stated that he was not allowed to fully study the designs for the proposed barrages under the Kaleshwaram project. According to him, KCR, Harish Rao, and former E.N.C.s Hariram and Nalla Venkateshwarlu exerted pressure to sign off on the designs. Narender Reddy admitted that errors occurred at every stage of the project, from construction to management and quality checking of the barrages.
Additionally, Reddy clarified that he had no involvement with the hydrology and investigation aspects of the Kaleshwaram designs. He reported that he informed the Chief Engineer that he would not sign off on the entire checklist. Subsequently, he claimed that KCR and Harish Rao pressured him through phone calls to sign the documents, assuring him that there would be no issues. He alleged that they used their positions to forcefully obtain his signatures.
The commission questioned whether the Kaleshwaram project designs and drawings were certified prematurely. Reddy revealed that he was only responsible for the designs, but he was coerced into signing off on the hydrology and investigation checklists as well. He also mentioned that the L&T company was involved in multiple aspects, including every component design related to the Medigadda barrage. Reddy expressed frustration that L&T interfered in every design he prepared as Chief Engineer and provided parallel designs. However, after the project incurred losses, L&T denied any involvement, shifting the responsibility to CDO.
Reddy alleged that gambling occurred in the checklist prepared before finalizing the Medigadda barrage design. He noticed that some words were conspiratorially removed from a letter, leading him to request the original letter through an RTI. He accused KCR and Harish Rao of these actions to secure their positions and provided the RTI copy to the commission.