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Ghose Commn grills Spl Chief Secretary for 2 hours
Special Chief Secretary to Finance department Ramakrishna Rao clarifies that responsibility for Kaleshwaram project designs lies with govt
Hyderabad: Justice Ghose Commission on Kaleshwaram grilled state Special Chief Secretary to Finance department Ramakrishna Rao for nearly two hours on the mobilisation of funds and expenditure incurred on the multi-crore project.
The official claimed the finance wing has followed the norms in the mobilisation of the funds from various financial institutions. When the Commission questioned the alleged irregularities in clearing the bills to the contract agencies, he maintained that a transparent mechanism had been adopted.
Sources said that the Commission asked some key questions on the creation of Kaleshwaram Corporation, loans, project designs, budget allocation and interest payments.
The Commission also sought information from the official on how the corporation mobilised funds. Ramakrishna Rao replied that the funds were provided through budget allocations and loans.
To a question, the Finance Secretary answered that the project would also generate revenue by using the available water for industrial needs. The Commission raised some doubts on the finance issues based on the affidavit submitted by some officials and the CAG report.
The Commission questioned Ramakrishna about whether the regulations were followed in terms of designs. He clarified that the responsibility for the Kaleshwaram project designs lies with the government. When the Commission questioned that the regulations were not followed during the approval of the designs, Ramakrishna Rao told the Commission that there was never a meeting with the core committee regarding the construction of the project and that there were no committee records.
The finance secretary said he was not aware of the project being built in a hurry and regulations not being followed. He also clarified that he did not know about the Kaleshwaram project policies tabled in the Assembly.
The Commission showed Ramakrishna Rao the records of the funds released without following the rules. When the Commission questioned him about the improper maintenance of records in financial matters, he said that the corporation had taken loans for the project with the government guarantee.
The official also revealed that in 2024-25 financial year, an interest of Rs 6,519 crore was paid on the principal amount, and that the government was paying an interest between 9 to 10.5 percent on the loans.
