HYDERABAD: Former Irrigation minister T Harish Rao on Monday told the PC Ghose Commission that although the Cabinet cleared the proposal to construct the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme, the technical matters were handled by the engineers and political leaders had nothing to do with them.
Deposing before the Commission of Inquiry on Kaleshwaram, headed by former Supreme Court judge PC Ghose, Harish explicitly explained the chronological events that led to the change of source from Tummadihatti to Medigadda.
During his 45-minute cross-examination, Harish, who served as Irrigation minister from June 2014 to November 2018, said that the decision to change the source from Tummadihatti to Medigadda barrage was taken after the Maharashtra government raised certain objections, due to the lack of water availability and also following the reports of the Central Water Commission.
Documents provided
Harish provided all the documents to the Commission in support of his claims. Besides, he read out the affidavit filed by the retired engineers and said that they too observed that water was not available at Tummadihatti in Godavari.
Harish said that the BRS government decided to re-engineer the existing project and as part of it, Kaleshwaram was constructed. “Though the Congress government conceived Pranahita-Chevella, there was no inter-state agreement with Maharashtra on water sharing. The Congress government started canal works without getting permission for head works ,” Harish told the panel.
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“Though the Pranahita-Chevella started in 2007, there was no agreement for water sharing till 2014. Soon after the formation of the state, I contacted the Maharashtra Irrigation minister on July 23, 2014 in Mumbai,” Harish explained. As the then Maharashtra Irrigation minister expressed his inability to take a decision and suggested the meetings of chief ministers of both the states, the CMs of Telangana and Maharashtra had a meeting at the Maharashtra Raj Bhavan on February 17, 2015, Harish disclosed.
‘No forcible decision’
Some people were saying that Medigadda barrage was forcibly decided by the state government. It was not correct, Harish told the Commission. If the barrage at Tummadihatti was constructed reducing the height of the barrage as suggested by the Maharashtra government, then the net available water would be only 45 tmcft, Harish stated.
He pointed out that the CWC in September 2017 stated that the water available at Medigadda was 283 tmcft.
On the formation of the Kaleshwaram Irrigation Project Corporation Limited (KIPCL), Harish said that as there were not sufficient funds with the newly formed Telangana state to construct the project, the government decided to float the Corporation to raise loans.
He added that the Corporation took loans from REC and PFC and nationalised banks and not from private players. He said that though the loans were to be repaid by the revenues earned by the Corporation, it could not be possible due to Covid-19. Later, Coca-Cola set up a plant using Kaleshwaram water and started paying charges.
‘Kaleshwaram is a lifeline’
Speaking to reporters later, Harish pointed out that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy recently laid the foundation for the Gandamalla project, which will receive water from Mallannasagar, a key reservoir of the Kaleshwaram project. Even the proposed Musi River beautification and Hyderabad drinking water supply were dependent on water from Mallannasagar.
Harish questioned how the same government could criticise Kaleshwaram as a failure while simultaneously launching new projects that rely on its infrastructure. “Kaleshwaram is and will remain Telangana’s lifeline. The people of Telangana understand its importance,” he said.
Commission: Can you tell us what is the scope of the study by the Cabinet sub-committee, constituted through GO 665?
Harish: There were many deficiencies in the projects conceived in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. There were several inter-state problems and water allocation issues. After the formation of Telangana, the government decided to re-engineer the projects and constituted the Cabinet sub-committee. The Pranahita-Chevella was divided into two — BR Ambedkar Pranahita-Chevella and Kaleshwaram. There were six links in the original Pranahita-Chevella project. After the re-engineering, six links remained the same.
Commission: Can you tell us whether the Cabinet accorded approvals for the project?
Harish: Everything is approved by the Cabinet.
Commission: Who decided to shift the Annaram and Sundilla barrages? High Power Committee?
Harish: That is a technical issue. We are not engineers. Any technical decision has to be taken by engineers only. But the locations were changed only to reduce the length of the gravity canals and to reduce the power consumption. Locations of several projects in the country like Nagarjunasagar, Pochampadu, Kanthanapally and others were changed in the past. It was a technical decision and it was not done by the government. The government gave all powers to the High Power Committee in this regard.
Commission: The contracting agencies alleged that there was a delay in handing over the lands for the construction of the project.
Harish: There was not much delay. Some delays were normal in the construction of the projects.
Commission: After the finalisation of tenders, the conditions of the contract changed?
Harish: The officials will take some decisions, depending on the field conditions and also due to unforeseen conditions.
Commission: Who decided to reserve water to pool levels?
Harish: It is the responsibility of the technical wing.
Commission: Whether three barrages are constructed for storing water?
Harish: It is a technical issue decided by the engineers.
Commission: Who decided to retain the water in the barrages?
Harish: No one from the government.
Commission: I am just asking as a layman — isn’t it wrong to plan to give up land acquisition and go for flood banks and drainage channels in 2018, when the agreements were already concluded in 2016?
Harish: Normally, these technical issues will be taken care of by the engineers.