Ghose commission violated CoI Act, deprived KCR and others of presenting arguments: former MP Vinod Kumar
Citing Section 8C of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952, which gives the right of cross-examination and representation by a legal practitioner, Mr. Rao said that the former Chief Minister KCR or the then Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao had not been allowed to present their arguments to place the facts before the Commission.
With regard to the Commission's observations that Medigadda was constructed against the advice of the Expert Committee constituted in January 2015, Mr. Vinod Kumar said that the advice was given in the initial report. 'But to compensate for that, it was decided to construct Annaram and Sundilla upstream barrages across the Godavari River as part of the project, as they would supplement the water needs of the KLIP,' he claimed.
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Hans India
10 minutes ago
- Hans India
Damning evidence against KCR and ex-ministers: Ghose panel report on KLIS to be tabled in spl Assembly session
Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who chaired a meeting of the Cabinet at the Secretariat on Monday and accepted the report of the PC Ghose Commission, which had probed allegations of massive corruption and improper execution of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS), said matter-of-factly that the state government would table the report at a special session of the Assembly soon and, after 'seeking the opinion of every member' in the House' take action based on the findings of the panel. According to official sources who were privy to a power-point presentation made by State Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on the summary of the judicial commission's report during the cabinet meeting, the Commission has found former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao responsible for the alleged irregularities in the construction of the project. The Commission has observed in its report that Rao was directly and indirectly responsible for the irregularities in the project, right from its planning and construction to operation and maintenance of the barrages which are part of the project, sources said. The Commission pointed fingers also at former irrigation minister T Harish Rao, a nephew of KCR. A committee of experts had advised against taking up the Kaleshwaram project, but the BRS regime had "intentionally suppressed" the report, they said. The sources said the officials had prepared a 60-page summary of the report, which runs into 665 pages. The summary mentioned the names of KCR 32 times, Harish Rao 19 times and former minister Eatala Rajender five times. Rajender is now a BJP Lok Sabha member. The report found Rajender, who was finance minister during the BRS regime, to be negligent, the sources said. Briefing the press after the Cabinet meeting, the Chief Minister, apparently enthused by the damning evidence against former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and ex-ministers, said that since the report was prepared by an independent judicial commission, the question of resorting to politics of vengeance did not arise. Going by the findings of the Commission highlighted in the report, the government will initiate action against those who were involved in the 'embezzlement of public money in the construction of the Kaleshwaram project.'
Hans India
10 minutes ago
- Hans India
Ghose panel faults KCR and team
Hyderabad: The Justice PC Ghose Commission of inquiry into the Kaleshwaram project has held former chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, former irrigation minister T Harish Rao , former Finance minister E Rajender and a bunch of senior officials, including the then Irrigation special Chief Secretary SK Joshi, responsible for the colossal waste of public money in the construction of the Kaleshwaram project. The Commission has observed in its report that Rao was directly and indirectly responsible for the irregularities in the project, right from its planning and construction to operation and maintenance of the barrages which are part of the project, sources said. The Commission pointed fingers also at former irrigation minister T Harish Rao, a nephew of KCR. A committee of experts had advised against taking up the Kaleshwaram project, but the BRS regime had 'intentionally suppressed' the report, they said. The sources said the officials had prepared a 60-page summary of the report, which runs into 665 pages. The summary mentioned the names of KCR 32 times, Harish Rao 19 times and former minister Eatala Rajender five times. Rajender is now a BJP Lok Sabha member. The report found Rajender, who was finance minister during the BRS regime, to be negligent, the sources said. Briefing the press after the Cabinet meeting, the Chief Minister, apparently enthused by the damning evidence against former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and ex-ministers, said that since the report was prepared by an independent judicial commission, the question of resorting to politics of vengeance did not arise. Going by the findings of the Commission highlighted in the report, the government will initiate action against those who were involved in the 'embezzlement of public money in the construction of the Kaleshwaram project.' Amplifying the key findings, Revanth Reddy said that former chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao redesigned the Pranahita -Chevella project and constructed Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages which were damaged within three months of the construction of the Kaleshwaram project. Although an expert committee had submitted a report against Kaleshwaram, KCR chose to go ahead with the construction of the barrages 'without any planning'. The Chief Minister recounted that, ahead of the Assembly elections, the Congress had promised that, if voted to power, the government would order a probe into the collapse of the Kaleshwaram project. Accordingly, the state government constituted a judicial commission to investigate the misuse of Rs one lakh crore in the construction of the project. Revanth Reddy said that the cabinet reviewed the 665-page Ghose Commission report as well as a summary of the report submitted after vetting by a three-member official committee.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Action on Kaleshwaram report after House debate: Revanth
Hyderabad: The state govt has decided to act on the Justice PC Ghose Commission report, which squarely blamed former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and his administration for corruption, irregularities and engineering failures in the Kaleshwaram project, particularly sinking of piers in Medigadda, and damages to Annaram and Sundilla barrages. Chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Monday said concrete action would be taken "strictly on the basis of the report," but only after a detailed debate in, both the assembly and council. "This will not be political vendetta. The report is the outcome of an independent judicial inquiry led by Justice Ghose, one of the country's most distinguished jurists," he asserted. The 665-page report was tabled before the cabinet four days after it was submitted to the govt. The cabinet cleared it along with a brief summary prepared by a three-member officials' committee. The CM said opinion of all political parties and independents would be sought before finalising the next course of action. You Can Also Check: Hyderabad AQI | Weather in Hyderabad | Bank Holidays in Hyderabad | Public Holidays in Hyderabad The assembly and council sessions are expected to be convened shortly to debate the report, after which legal and administrative action will begin against all those held accountable by the Ghose panel. The Ghose commission has held a range of decision-makers — former ministers, senior IAS officers, irrigation engineers, contractors and project agencies — accountable for the massive procedural, technical and financial mess. It traced the project's decline to KCR's 'unilateral decision' to abandon the original Pranahita-Chevella project and redesign it as the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme. "Every crucial decision — from site changes to cost escalation to contract awards — was taken personally by the then chief minister," the report states. Even senior BRS leaders such as former irrigation minister T Harish Rao and former finance minister Eatala Rajender were found culpable. "The commission stated that corruption took place on a massive scale and wrong decisions made for selfish gains caused the present collapse of the barrages," Revanth said. Irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, with deputy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka by his side, quoted the report to say that the cabinet approval shown for the Rs 2,591-crore Medigadda barrage was illegal. "The commission conclusively stated that KCR took all decisions on Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages without placing them before the cabinet," he said. According to the report, the entire project was characterised by "rampant and brazen procedural and financial irregularities." The commission listed the faults: Lack of proper planning, inflated estimates, illegal approvals, switch from lumpsum to turnkey contracts, revised estimates with mala fide intent, undue favours to agencies, defective designs (barrages constructed as dams), poor quality control, faulty construction, absence of operation and maintenance systems, missing manuals, illegal completion certificates, premature release of bank guarantees and complete financial mismanagement. The report goes on to say that the Kaleshwaram scheme, once projected as the lifeline of Telangana, has turned into a "colossal waste of public money due to profound failure of governance, technical oversight and financial discipline, driven by individual decisions and undue influence of political leadership."
