Minister for Irrigation N. Uttam Kumar Reddy. File
| Photo Credit: NAGARA GOPAL
The Justice P.C. Ghose Commission of Inquiry into the Kaleshwaram Project barrages — Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla — has held that it was the then Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao be made directly accountable for procedural lapses in construction, operation and maintenance at every stage leading to the structures becoming non-operational.
Minister for Irrigation N. Uttam Kumar Reddy said in the Assembly on Sunday while initiating the debate on short discussion on the construction of Kaleshwaram Project barrage and the 665-page report of the P.C. Ghose Commission on them. He also read out some excerpts of the Commission report as part of his initial views on it.
Quoting the report, the Minister stated that non-availability of water at Tummidihatti site was not a genuine reason for construction of the barrage at Medigadda and the it was the solo decision of the then Chief Minister, that due procedures were not followed in the execution of barrages, that there was no justification for revised estimates and the extension of time given.
The report further held that engineers involved in the execution of the barrages, then irrigation and financial ministers and then Chief Minister be held responsible for the three barrages becoming non-functional. He said: “It’s sad day for Telangana as the Kaleshwaram Project has become non-functional after spending ₹87,449 crore but the heart of the project — three barrages and their pump houses have become useless for the last 20 months.”
He explained that the location of Medigadda Barrage was finalised and tenders were called for even before the WAPCOS report was submitted and that the decision had no approval of the then Cabinet, leaving the total project a massive financial burden on the State following collapse of the barrage. The 2022 CAG report had indicated that project cost would cross ₹1.27 lakh crore and later it was ₹1.47 lakh crore.
The Minister stated that settlement of foundation of the Medigadda Barrage, failure of the upstream of secant piles, erosion of sand deposits in the inner layers of the barrage bed were the main reasons for the barrage damage. Till the crumbling of six piers of Block-7 of the barrage on October 21, 2023 from the date of first lifting of water from it, a total of 162 tmc ft was lifted against the plan to lift 195 tmc ft every year.
The net water available after evaporation losses was only 114 tmc ft and of which only 101 tmc ft water was used. The new ayacut created was less than 1 lakh acres and stabilisation too less than 1 lakh acres.
On the impact of the project, he explained that the extent of paddy cultivation and production in Telangana was 89 lakh acres and 186 lakh tonnes in 2021-22, 115 lakh acres and 238 lakh tonnes in 2022-23, 115 lakh acres and 253 lakh tonnes in 2023-24 and without using Kaleshwaram barrages 121 lakh acres and 261 lakh tonnes in 2024-25.
Published – August 31, 2025 08:42 PM is
