HYDERABAD: Stepping up his attack on the previous BRS regime, Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Tuesday alleged that despite spending Rs 27,000 crore on the Palamuru–Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS), the BRS government failed to supply water to even a single acre.
Speaking to reporters here, the minister said the Congress government had spent Rs 7,000 crore on PRLIS over the past two years. He accused BRS leaders of making “blatant and misleading claims” on irrigation projects and dismissed former CM K Chandrasekhar Rao’s assertions as untrue.
Uttam maintained that PRLIS had no statutory approvals and rejected the BRS allegation that he had agreed to limit water allocation to just 45 tmcft for the project. “In fact, the BRS never intended to construct PRLIS,” he claimed.
He further alleged that in a report submitted to the Central government in 2020, the BRS administration did not even seek water allocation for PRLIS, the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) or the Dindi project. “For 10 years, the BRS hoodwinked the people of the state,” he said.
The minister charged that although the BRS government spent Rs 1.83 lakh crore on irrigation projects, it failed to provide water even to a single acre. Any water supplied to farmers during its tenure, he said, was through projects built by the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh government.
Uttam also alleged that KCR had cooperated with the Andhra Pradesh government to “divert” water through the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Scheme, adding that it was the Congress government that halted its construction.
Denying allegations made by former minister T Harish Rao, Uttam said he does not have the habit of collecting commissions. He challenged the BRS to make a PowerPoint presentation in the state Legislative Assembly and explain whether works during its tenure were awarded to AP contractors.