Telangana Govt Is Committed to Protect Kaleshwaram Project, Says Bhatti

Hyderabad: Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, who holds charge of the finance department, reiterated that the state government was committed to protecting the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation scheme (KLIS) in accordance with the directors of the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) to ensure that thousands of crores of public money spent on the project did not go waste.

Lashing out at the previous BRS government for taking hasty decisions in the construction of the Kaleshwaram project, which is mired with faulty designs and constructed with poor and sub-standard quality, Bhatti said that the earlier BRS government had raised high hopes among the public on the project with extended hype. However, the project’s deficiencies came to light within a short period of time and put the entire state in shock.

An inquiry committee has been appointed to identify the irregularities in this project and to suggest appropriate measures. Further action will be taken based on the report given by this judicial inquiry committee, Bhatti announced while speaking about the irrigation sector during his budget speech in the Assembly. The government had earmarked `22,301 crore for the irrigation sector in this Budget.

Emphasising the Congress government’s priority to complete many irrigation projects that were neglected by the previous KCR government though they were in the final stages of construction, Bhatti announced that the Congress government has decided to complete six such projects which are in the final stages which can immediately bring ayacut under irrigation within this financial year.

Similarly, 12 projects have been decided to be completed in the next financial year. A total of 31 projects — 24 large and 7 medium projects — are currently under construction in the State, Bhatti informed the house.

Bhatti also charged that the earlier BRS government had not carried out the maintenance of the existing large, medium and small projects in the state in the last 10 years, due to which people have not been able to avail the full benefits of these projects. If they are left as they are, our projects built with public money will become useless. Hence, our government is determined to undertake the maintenance and repair of projects regularly, he said.