HYDERABAD: Alleging that there is ‘open-ended corruption’ in the Mission Kakatiya Project, lake activists and members of the Socialist Party of India, Telangana questioned the use of funds in the project. The representatives also argued that the project is only an eye wash, where apart from misuse of taxpayers’ money, it is also destroying lakes in the state.
Taking the case of Gudi Cheruvu in Rajanna Sircilla district which is also a popular pilgrimage centre, where several devotees go to take a holy dip in the river which flows into the temple, Lubna Sarwath from the party stated that the lake has been destroyed.
“It has been fully concretised, and there is no water flowing into the temple. The devotees are being deprived of the holy dip. This after revising the funds allocated for the cheruvu, as part of Mission Kakatiya, from Rs 9 crore to Rs 90 crore,” said Sarwath. A GO was also issued by the State while mentioning that the funds have been allocated to convert it into a mini-Tank Bund.
“The lake does not exist anymore as it has been concretised. On the other hand, there is no flow of water into the river. So what do they mean by converting it into a mini tank bund, when they have killed the lake itself. Where is all the money,” she questioned.
The party also demanded that a third party audit should be conducted on the utilisation of funds, the extent of work done and the damage done to various water bodies in the State, Sarwath further said.
EE Clarifies
The executive engineer (EE) of Sircilla division, however, clarified that though the funds are being utilised to convert the lake into mini-Tank Bund, it is ensured that the lake is not affected in any way. “The funds are being utilised for development works, for land acquisition around the lake and also for developing tanks and other works. The work to convert the lake into mini-Tank Bund is in progress,” said T Srinivas Rao, executive engineer