Hyderabad: Dubbing the Justice Pinaki Ghose Commission report on alleged irregularities in the construction of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project as a “political drama”, former Irrigation Minister and BRS leader T Harish Rao on Sunday said it was “neither impartial nor fair”.
Participating in the short discussion on the Commission report placed in the Legislative Assembly, Rao alleged that Justice Ghose “did not follow proper procedures during the inquiry.”
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy advised Rao not to make personal remarks against Justice Ghose.
Reddy alleged that, to loot Telangana’s public funds, the previous BRS government changed the location of the barrage from Thummidi Hatti to Medigadda, altering project definitions despite a report against it by a group of retired engineers.
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Taking part in the discussion, Rao alleged that “Justice Ghose’s report is a political drama just before the local body polls. Ghose did not give us notices under Section 8B of the Commissions of Inquiry Act. He did not follow appropriate rules to seek our response or provide an opportunity for cross-examination.”
He further claimed that it was clear the inquiry was conducted with “procedural lapses and that the state government was resorting to political vendetta.”
“There was no impartial inquiry. This was unfair, illogical, and politically motivated,” Rao alleged.
Reddy, who intervened, claimed the BRS leader was trying to “mislead the House, and the party was attempting to malign the integrity of Justice Ghose.”
Reddy added that the Commission clearly found faults in Rao’s actions related to the projects.
The chief minister requested the Speaker to expunge the “half-backed” information provided by Rao.
“Instead of misleading the House, Rao should suggest a way forward regarding the Commission’s report,” the CM said.
Earlier, initiating the discussion, Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy said the previous BRS government failed to irrigate even two lakh acres through the Kaleshwaram Project despite spending Rs 1 lakh crore.
Only a little over 100 TMC of water was lifted through the project in five years. The overall project cost escalated to over Rs 1.40 lakh crore, against the planned Rs 38,000 crore during the Congress period, he added.
The Commission held K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), who was chief minister during the previous BRS regime, “directly and vicariously accountable for the irregularities and illegalities in planning, construction, completion, operation, and maintenance of the three barrages.”
Meanwhile, the Assembly passed Bills to facilitate 42 per cent reservation for Backward Classes in local body polls by amending the legislation passed in 2018.
The government had earlier issued an ordinance to amend the 2018 Act, which was sent to the President by Governor Jishnu Dev Varma.
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