K. Chandrashekar Rao gets relief, Telangana says no clean chit
Telangana may move Supreme Court of India after Cabinet decision
Telangana Stands Firm: HC Verdict No Free Pass for Kaleshwaram Mess, CBI Probe Marches On
Hyderabad’s political air crackled Wednesday, April 22, as the Telangana government pushed back hard against the High Court’s latest twist in the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) saga. The court gave BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) and three others a procedural breather—no action based solely on the Justice PC Ghose Commission’s damning findings. But the Revanth Reddy administration isn’t buying it as a clean chit. “This doesn’t absolve anyone,” they say, eyes locked on the CBI probe into the project’s epic failures. It’s a classic post-poll showdown: BRS cries vindication, Congress smells blood, and farmers still wait for water.
Public Relations Officer D Chandra Bhaskar Rao, speaking for Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, cut through the noise. “The High Court upheld the commission’s very constitution—no faults there. It’s valid under the 1952 Commissions of Inquiry Act.” A division bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G M Mohiuddin agreed, calling the setup neither arbitrary nor unconstitutional. Petitions from KCR, ex-minister T Harish Rao, and others got limited relief: Objections to “technical lapses” like improper notices under Section 8B. No personal actions from the report alone—for now.
Government calls it procedural nitpicking, not a knockout blow. The real hammer? CBI’s full-court press, greenlit last September via GO, predating the verdict. Picture this: Medigadda barrage’s Block 7 sank dramatically on October 21, 2023—like a bad dream for engineers. Two years on, zero water lifted from its three barrages, yet Telangana shells out Rs 15,000-20,000 crore yearly in debt servicing. “Human failure, India’s biggest man-made disaster,” officials fume. NDSA’s prelim report (from BRS days!) flagged site picks, designs, builds, maintenance. State Vigilance echoed it. Ghose’s 640-page tome grilled engineers, IAS folks, officials—tabled in Assembly last August, sparking CM Revanth Reddy’s CBI handoff.
The Ghose report didn’t mince words: KCR accountable for irregularities; Harish Rao, his nephew and then-irrigation boss, under fire; officials complicit in barrages’ botched builds. Experts from top institutes say not just two pillars—the whole foundation’s suspect. Heartbreaking for parched farmers who’ve seen promises evaporate.
Government’s mulling a Supreme Court appeal—Cabinet decides today, April 23, per Deccan Chronicle whispers. No knee-jerk; they’ll pore over the full judgment.
Separately, Irrigation Secretary E Sridhar doused speculation around NDSA Chairman’s April 20 Medigadda visit. “Purely technical,” he stressed—no politics. Post-sinking, NDSA recommended deep dives and models for rehab. Field work kicked off last week; Chairman guided teams sans media fanfare or CM photo-ops.
From Hyderabad’s streets, this hits home. KLIP was BRS’s crown jewel—world’s largest lift irrigation, they boasted—to green 45 lakh acres. Cost ballooned to Rs 1 lakh crore amid allegations of kickbacks, over-engineering. BRS ruled 2014-2023; Congress swept in on anti-corruption waves. Now, with monsoons fickle and groundwater dipping, it’s not abstract—it’s farmers’ livelihoods, taxpayers’ burden.
KCR, the architect, hails the verdict as validation. Harish Rao smirks at “witch-hunt.” But Revanth’s team points to multi-agency indictments: “BRS ignored red flags.” CBI’s digging could unearth contracts, tenders, the works. If it sticks, game-changer; if not, endless appeals.
As a Hyderabadi watching this unfold, it’s exhausting yet riveting—like a family feud over a sunken inheritance. Farmers in Jayashankar Bhupalpally or Rajanna Sircilla aren’t theorists; they need irrigation now, not courtroom dramas. Will CBI deliver justice, or more delays? Supreme Court next? Stay tuned—Telangana’s water wars are far from over.