Hyderabad: This cross-party involvement held responsible for all that went wrong with Telangana’s Medigadda barrage, key component of Rs 1,00,000 crore Kaleshwearam Lift Irrigation Project on Godavari added layers of complexity to the ongoing investigations. Ahead of his deposition before, the PC Ghose judicial Commission probing the project issues, BRS leader T. Harish Rao, has emphasized that the Medigadda decision was not unilateral but a collective cabinet move, backed by technical and environmental assessments.
He highlighted Tummala Nageswara Rao’s role in the sub-committee, noting that the current Congress minister was a signatory to the site shift. “The decision was made after thorough evaluations, including Central Water Commission reports confirming insufficient water availability at Tummidi Hatti,” Rao stated, defending the BRS government’s vision for the Kaleshwaram project, which aimed to transform Telangana’s irrigation landscape.
However, the Congress-led government, under Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, has accused the previous BRS regime of negligence and mismanagement. Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy has called the Medigadda collapse “the biggest man-made disaster since Independence,” citing the NDSA’s findings of faulty design, poor planning, and improper water storage practices.
The NDSA report concluded that Block 7 of the Medigadda Barrage is beyond repair and must be rebuilt, with structural distress also noted at the Annaram and Sundilla barrages. The Telangana Vigilance Commission has intensified the probe, recommending criminal proceedings against Larsen & Toubro Precision Engineering and Systems (L&T-PES), the contractor for the project, and around 50 serving and retired officials, including 17 for criminal charges and 33 for disciplinary action.
The commission’s March 5, 2025, report highlighted lapses in design, supervision, quality control, and execution, which led to significant financial losses and political fallout. The Justice P.C. Ghose Commission, constituted in March 2024, has summoned former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), Harish Rao, and Etela Rajender to record their statements. The question queering the minds is, will the commission summon Thummala too?
