HYDERABAD: Former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao made key policy decisions regarding the construction of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme, former engineer-in-chief (ENC) Nalla Venkateswarlu told the Justice PC Ghose Commission on Thursday.
The former ENC noted that the contracting agencies conducted investigations to change the locations of the Annaram and Sundilla barrages.
Venkateswarlu, who was removed from his position after the piers of Medigadda barrage sank over a year ago, was deposed before the one-man Commission of Inquiry on Kaleshwaram.
‘WAPCOS finalised DPRs of barrages’
Over the four hours of the deposition, the former ENC was posed more than 130 questions. These included inquiries about the purpose of detailed project report (DPR), the types of tests or investigative studies required for preparing the DPRs and factors considered in finalising the locations of the barrages.
The former ENC stated that WAPCOS finalised the DPRs and the locations of the Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages. However, he noted that the locations of Annaram and Sundilla were changed later. When asked if investigation studies were conducted for these changes and who performed them, he replied that the contracting agencies Navayuga and Afcons carried out the investigations.
The commission also inquired whether WAPCOS had the authority to decide the locations of the barrages. Venkateswarlu said that WAPCOS was a reputed company, but added that the final decisions were made at the instance of the government. The former ENC also stated that the axis of the Annaram barrage was altered at the government’s direction.
A meeting chaired by then chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao instructed WAPCOS to prepare the DPRs for Kaleshwaram. Initially, WAPCOS prepared separate DPRs for the three barrages, but later submitted a comprehensive DPR for the entire Kaleshwaram project, Venkateswarlu said.