HYDERABAD: Justice PC Ghose, who heads the Commission of Inquiry into the Kaleshwaram project, expressed displeasure with former Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar for his delay in appearing before the panel on Thursday.
After questioning IAS officer and then CMO secretary Smita Sabharwal, Justice Ghose waited for some time for Somesh Kumar’s arrival. When the former CS did not show up, Ghose announced he would take a break and that Somesh Kumar would have to wait until the evening. However, as Ghose was leaving the room, Somesh Kumar entered. The panel chairman remarked, “You are too late.” Somesh Kumar responded that he was available, but Justice Ghose took a break and returned later to question him.
During the proceedings, Justice Ghose commented the blue sapphire worn by Somesh Kumar, asking whether it would protect him. Somesh Kumar, in turn, asked if Justice Ghose was an astrologer. In a lighter vein, Ghose replied that he was not an astrologer but a “foreteller” who could predict the future by studying someone’s forehead.
Ghose also made sarcastic remarks towards Somesh Kumar, saying, “You were the Chief Secretary and head of all the departments. You cannot say that you were just a secretary to the Cabinet.”
The panel chairman asked whether Somesh Kumar had ever issued a dissent note regarding the three barrages of the Kaleshwaram project. Somesh replied in the negative. Referring to records, Justice Ghose suggested that the construction of the three barrages had been approved without the Cabinet’s consent. Somesh Kumar and Smita Sabharwal explained that due to the urgency of the work, any file approved by the Chief Minister would subsequently be placed before the Cabinet for ratification.
When asked, Sabharwal clarified that files placed before the Cabinet would not have come to the CMO if they had been approved at the ministerial level. She added that her role was limited to general coordination with line departments and did not involve any technical or advisory responsibilities. She further stated that no deviations or concerns had been flagged by either the Finance Department or the Chief Secretary’s office regarding the Kaleshwaram files.
Q&A Time
Commission: “Do I take it that, since you did not issue any dissenting notes and processed the files, you believed everything was in order and perfect? What do you say?”
Somesh Kumar: “As Chief Secretary, I reviewed the notes provided by the department. If I found the file to be in order, I approved it. If there was any defect in the note, I would record it. If everything was fine, I cleared the files. When the Finance Department, which is the custodian of these matters, cleared the file, I processed it further.”
Commission: “I suggest that Government Order (GO) 776 was never referred to the Cabinet for approval. What do you say?”
Smita Sabharwal: “This is not correct.”
Commission: “Normally, files would be routed through the Cabinet. But in this matter, it was done directly by the Chief Minister at that point in time. What do you say?”
Smita Sabharwal: “I am not aware.”