Hyderabad: The Telangana Assembly witnessed a heated debate over the Justice P.C. Ghosh Commission report on the Kaleshwaram Project, with Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and ministers exchanging sharp remarks over project decisions and alleged mismanagement.
CM Revanth criticized the previous BRS government, alleging that former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) prioritized personal ambitions, which influenced the decision to shift the project to Medigadda. He accused former minister Harish Rao of misleading the public with false statements and cited letters from 2009, 2014, and 2015 from then Union Minister Uma Bharati, confirming water availability at the original Pranahita-Chevella site and hydrological clearance for the project. Revanth alleged that the BRS later demanded re-examination of the project for “selfish and exploitative purposes,” and that mismanagement under Harish Rao as Irrigation Minister had put the project and public interest at risk.
Meanwhile, Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy and Harish Rao clashed over the time allotted to discuss the 650-page report. Uttam criticized Harish Rao for allegedly laughing in the Assembly while the multi-thousand-crore project faced risk, while Rao sought two hours to respond but was granted only 30 minutes. Uttam also alleged that renaming the Pranahita-Chevella Project to Kaleshwaram and the structural stress on the Medigadda barrage—the project’s “heart”—demonstrated mismanagement. He added that for the past 20 months, the Medigadda, Sundilla, and Annaram barrages have remained unused.
The debate underscores continuing political tensions and scrutiny over accountability and project management in Telangana’s Kaleshwaram Project.