Hyderabad: Chief minister A Revanth Reddy said the Congress govt is ready to discuss in detail Kaleshwaram project, including the three affected barrages, in the assembly. He asked BRS to write a letter to the assembly speaker and fix dates for the discussion.“If BRS leaders explain and convince the House why the Kaleshwaram project, including the repair of the three barrages and maintenance, should be handed over to them, the govt will hand over the project to BRS for the next three years,” Revanth Reddy said. He said the govt would take the responsibility to treat the former CM K Chandrasekhar Rao respectfully and hear him out without any obstructions in the assembly.Speaking at a presentation on the Kaleshwaram project and Pranahita-Chevella by irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy to the ministers, MPs and MLAs at Praja Bhavan on Tuesday, the CM said the BRS leaders were trying to protect their political existence by shifting the blame onto others.“Those who caused such destruction are called economic terrorists. KCR, KTR, and Harish are economic terrorists. We are ready to arrange assembly sessions on the day KCR wants. We are ready to hold a joint session and discuss the project in detail,” the CM said.He said Congress during the YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s regime began the Pranahita-Chevella project to irrigate 16.40 lakh acres and the budget was pegged at Rs 39,000 crore. From the beginning, Congress tried to divert Godavari water and make Telangana green and prosperous. The Congress govt had earlier spent Rs 6,150 crore on it by the time Telangana was formed. After Telangana was formed, the KCR govt spent Rs 5,523 crore on this project.“After spending Rs 11,670 crore, KCR’s thinking changed. A committee for redesigning the project was constituted in 2015 and even the committee said KCR’s thinking was wrong. It gave a report saying there should not be a barrage near Medigadda. As he did not like the report, KCR got the report he wanted from the WAPCOS,” he said.“The project site and estimations were changed. The cost escalated from Rs 38,000 crore to Rs 81,000 crore. But water potential did not increase, the ayacut did not increase… but the estimates alone increased,” Revanth Reddy said. He said problems in the project, especially Kannepalli pump house, did not arise on a single day. The pump house got submerged in 2022 itself. He alleged that soil tests were not conducted at the three barrage sites before the construction.“It was during their (BRS) regime itself that the NDSA gave a preliminary report. The NDSA report said the barrage was damaged because of lack of quality, maintenance issues, and failure to follow norms. We are trying in every way to sustain the project built with Rs one lakh crore. For this, we are bringing in experts and trying to restore it,” the CM added.
