Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project: Curtains on Medigadda?

Hyderabad: Is it going to be curtains on Medigadda barrage? It looks like so if the Justice PC Ghose Commission report on the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) is the criterion. Furthermore, Annaram and Sundilla barrages may also meet the same fate.

For uninitiated, these three barrages are the key elements of the muti-purpose Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project, the redesigned version of erstwhile Pranahita Chevella Lift Irrigation Project (PCLIP) for which foundation stone was laid by then Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh YS Rajasekhara Reddy in 2008.

While it was proposed to lift water from Pranahita river from Tummidihetti under PCLIP, the key location was shifted to Medigadda near Kaleshwaram in Bhupalpally district in 2016 by the then Chief Minister of Telangana and BRS president K Chandrashekar Rao, citing non-availability of adequate water at Tummidihetti. The Telangana government spent close to a whopping Rs 1 lakh crore on the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project after shifting the location, and constructed barrages at Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla. The Medigadda barrage is the crucial part of the redesigned project as entire water from Pranahita river is to be lifted from there with massive pumps.

But interestingly, the Justice PC Ghose Commission which investigated into the irregularities in the construction of the Kaleshwaram project and misuse of public funds, found fault with the shifting of the location in the first place! This clearly shows that the fate of one of the biggest lift irrigation schemes in India is hanging in the balance now.

Under these circumstances, the recommendation of the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) to the state government that it should go for repair of the sunken piers of Medigadda, and cracks developed in Sundilla and Annaram barrages will remain non-starter.

Following the Ghose commission’s report, which pinpointed the pitfalls during the construction of the Kaleshwaram project, including planning, design, execution and operation and maintenance, the state government has reportedly concluded that the project has turned into a non-performing asset and a white elephant for the state exchequer.

The state Cabinet, which met on Monday, deliberated the Ghose Commission report at length and found that maintenance of the project would be a huge burden in the future. The Commission report was categorical that ‘Kaleshwaram project, the intended lifeline for Telangana, has become a colossal waste of public money due to a profound failure of governance, planning, technical oversight, and financial discipline’.

The report blamed the then chief minister, irrigation and finance ministers, irrigation officials and contract agencies from designing the project to its execution without following any scientific methodology. Officials said that the Ghose Commission found fault with the previous BRS government in every aspect of the execution of the project saying that it was unviable.

The question of the existence of the Medigadda barrage is also crucial in the wake of the Congress government’s proposal to construct a barrage at Tummidihetti by redesigning the project as per the earlier proposal of Pranahita Chevella Lift Irrigation Project. “KCR abandoned Pranhita project and constructed Kaleshwaram project in the guise of redesigning and reengineering. Now, the Congress government is ready to construct Tummidihetti barrage by changing designs and scraping some barrages, pump sets and diversion of water through new canals and lifts. Though it is too early”, said officials, while adding that the “current government was developing a network for optimum utilisation of Godavari water through Tummidihatti”. However, the new proposal will not fructify until Maharashtra gives its nod for the construction of Tummidihetti barrage as there are some submergence issues.

Meanwhile, irrigation experts, seeking anonymity, told The Hans India that the report released on Monday was more political in nature rather than technical. The technical aspects were not explained in detail. Instead, the commission compiled the statements of irrigation officials, experts and political leaders and drew its conclusions.

The state government should make public the overwhelming 665-page report to understand the commission’s technical understanding of the project, they pointed out. The Ghose panel should explain why the entire project was not viable and substantiate their findings with valid evidence and technicalities, they said.