Rama Krishna Sangem
BJP MP from Malkajigiri and former Telangana finance minister Etela Rajender has appeared before the Justice PC Ghosh commission that is probing failure of Kaleswaram multistage lift irrigation scheme and put the entire responsibility on former CM KCR. Etela Rajender was the finance minister of KCR government in the first term, from 2014-18 and later medical and health minister from 2019 to 2020 when he was dropped from the Cabinet.
Kaleswaram lift irrigation built on River Godavari, considered to be world’s largest multistage project. It was completed at around Rs 85,000 crore during the BRS ruling period. The project’s two pillars were crumbled months before the 2023 assembly elections. The Revanth Reddy headed Congress government which came to power appointed a judicial commission headed by a retired HC judge Justice PC Ghosh. After grilling several engineers and other officials, Justice Ghosh is now nearing political executives of the then government.
Besides Rajender, the commission summoned former irrigation and finance minister T Harish Rao and former CM KCR in next few days. Etela is the first minister to appear before the commission which grilled him in the open court. Etela was before the commission for about two hours and patiently replied to all the queries. Same kind of open court hearing is expected in case of Harish and KCR too when they come to depose before the commission.
“Just followed the Cabinet panel recommendations”
Etela during his pointed replies to the commission’s questions mainly responded saying that he had taken any independent decisions or any kind of scrutiny of the project on his own. He simply put the entire responsibility on the then Cabinet led by KCR and the recommendations of the Cabinet sub-committee. During the course of deposition, Etela said that the initial project cost was Rs 63,000 crore and later it went up to Rs 82,000 croe. “I don’t know how much cost it incurred by the time of full its completion,” said the former minister.
Asked why a separate corporation was formed for the Kaleswaram lift project, Etela explained that it was done to ensure funding from different sources and also for speedy completion. Securing funds would have been difficult if it was clubbed with other irrigation project in the department. After Etela’s deposition, now all eyes on the appearance of KCR and Harish Rao in the next few days. The Revanth government is waiting for the PC Ghosh commission report for further action on the failure of the project.
