HYDERABAD: Bringing to light “the absolute dereliction of duties”, the Vigilance and Enforcement (V&E) report submitted to the state government on Wednesday says that after the inauguration of the Medigadda barrage on June 19, 2019, there was not one instance of operation and maintenance exercise being carried out by the contracting agency or the department.
The V&E report also observed that the Irrigation officials did not maintain any records in respect of operation and maintenance as per the Dam Safety Act, 2021 and failed to follow their own guidelines.
In response to the incident, a six-member committee led by member (Disaster and Resilience), National Dam Safety Authority was deputed from October 23 to 25, 2023, to investigate the reasons for the sinking of the piers. The committee requested a list of 20 data/inputs for examination, but only 11 items were provided, the V&E report said.
“The Irrigation department failed to submit essential data such as pre-monsoon and post-monsoon, inspection, completion and quality control reports,” the Vigilance report said.
Acting on its recommendation, the government sacked Kaleshwaram ENC N Venkateshwarlu the same day.
Deficiencies in the operation and maintenance of the barrage were observed, emphasising the need for annual sounding and probing in the apron area post-monsoon to assess and launch aprons near structures. The V&E department, which conducted a probe into the sinking of piers of the Medigadda barrage, found several lapses in its construction and maintenance.
The report also pointed out that the original cost was revised by 133.67%, taking the total construction cost to Rs 4,321.44 crore from the original cost of Rs 1,849.31 crore. The V&E advised the government to establish an expert committee to determine the causes of failures, as the “examination of project designs, drawings, geological investigations and the structural integrity of all RCC elements is essential”.
The V&E requested budgetary funds and the hiring of two engineers and two chartered accountants on contract basis to support further inquiry.
Dammed to disuse
Govt proposed Pranahitha project with a proposed ayacut of 16.4 lakh acres in 2008
The total agreement value of Pranahitha project works was Rs 6,373.71 crore
Estimated cost of these works, including land acquisition, was Rs 1,806.41 crore
Out of the total expenditure incurred, material worth Rs 740.21 crore diverted to KLIS
Balance amount of Rs 1,066.20 crore is ‘unfruitful, unjustifiable expenditure’
Canals excavated were not made useful as planned by the govt since the last 10 years
Project has been abandoned, which resulted in huge loss to the exchequer
Sinking of a few piers of Laxmi barrage, Medigadda reported on Oct 21, 2023