HYDERABAD: While expressing severe displeasure at Governor ESL Narasimhan for praising Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s efforts to complete Kaleshwaram Irrigation Project, the principal opposition, the Congress, on Sunday demanded that the Governor should immediately hold a review meeting at Raj Bhavan with the officials of the irrigation department to examine the escalation of construction cost of various irrigation projects in the state including Kaleshwaram project, post-bifurcation.
“Kaleshwaram project’s original name was BR Ambedkar Pranahitha-Chevella project. It was initiated by the previous Congress government in the erstwhile united state with an estimated cost of `38,500 crore. Of the estimated amount, `10,000 crore was also spent by the previous government. But, suddenly the present government increased the project cost to ` 80,500 crore. Being the Constitutional Head, is it not the duty of the Governor to examine this sudden hike in project cost?” TPCC working president Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka questioned here, while addressing media persons.
He then alleged that the state government was trying to project the project as an entirely new one initiated by it, by renaming at as Kaleshwaram Irrigation Project. Hence, the Congress leader along with his colleagues in the party, V Hanumantha Rao and others, asked the Governor to immediately review the increased cost of the project, package-wise.
“If the Governor fails to do so, we will request the President of India to take up the issue. We will also request the President to act against the Governor, who is blindly supporting every move of the TRS government in the State,” Bhatti Vikramarka warned.
The TPCC working president further said that had the State government requested the Centre to accord national status to the Kaleshwaram project, the project would have been completed without imposing any financial burden on the exchequer. “But, the ruling TRS is more interested in getting commissions from the contractors of the projects than completing the project to provide water to agriculture fields in the State,” V Hanumantha Rao criticised. The Congress leaders further alleged that the State government had changed the names of Indira Sagar and Rajiv Sagar projects too. It gave a new name, Sitharama Sagar, to the two projects and then increased the projects’ cost by another `10,000 crore in order to loot people’s money, he claimed.
“The Governor who is showering praises on the CM should immediately review all these points raised by us. Or else, we will arrive at a decision that even the Governor was involved in the ongoing corruption in the irrigation projects,” Hanumantha Rao said.
Opposition’s barbs for narasimhan
He is not ESL Narasimhan. He is Kalvakuntla Narasimhan Rao. Governor can back the policies of the government, but this governor went to the extent of calling the chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao ‘Kaleshwaram Chandrasekhar Rao’, which is unbecoming of the Constitutional head
Ponnam Prabhakar, Congress leader
We have no objection if the Governor wants to join the TRS. If we observe the recent attitude of the Governor, it gives scope to the argument that he is showing more interest on politics
T Jeevan Reddy, Congress leader
The chief minister should also get titles for all other things he has been doing, like killing of Dalits, tribals and minorities
P Vara Vara Rao, revolutionary poet
Why is the Governor not talking about the problems of the oustees of the Kaleshwaram project? He should call all the oustees to Raj Bhavan and know their problems
Sridhar Babu, Congress leader