Thotapalli can’t be shelved as per KCR’s political scheme

Hyderabad: The Congress challenged the government for a debate over Thotapalli project, which it intends to scrap citing possible submergence of villages. The party leadership held that the project, on which more than Rs 137 crores was already spent, could not be sacrificed for the political scheming of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.

Speaking to media persons, Former Minister D Sridhar Babu questioned the intention of the State government as Chandrasekhar Rao failed to raise any objection to the project in 2007 as the MP of Medak. He said when the former Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy laid foundation for this project, Chandrasekhar Rao was also present. “If anyone goes to the site, they can read the plaque engraved with the name of Chandrasekhar Rao,” he said.

The Congress leader who represents the Medak district, held that the Chandrasekhar Rao was, in fact, making the farmers in the area to ‘take up agitation’ against the government. Challenging the claim of Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao that residents of about six villages were against the project fearing submergence, Sridhar Babu said the ground realities were different.

Most of the villagers were supporting completion of the project as this would irrigate 49,000 acres of land. 1,600 acres of land had already been acquired and the remaining 2,000 acres of land was to be acquired for its completion. “Almost half of the land has been acquired and remaining is in the process. The government must focus on it rather going for new ones,” Sridhar Babu said.