KCR appears before judicial panel probing 'irregularities' in Kaleshwaram project

Hyderabad: BRS president and former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday appeared before the judicial commission probing the alleged irregularities in the Kaleshwaram project.

The irrigation project was built during the previous BRS regime.

Rao reached the commission's office a little after 11 AM.

Several BRS leaders and workers assembled at the BRS Bhavan here, in view of KCR's appearance, where the commission's office is located. Police made elaborate security arrangements.

The commission has questioned a number of engineers and other officials, especially of the irrigation department, in the last about one year since its probe began.

KCR's nephew and BRS MLA T Harish Rao, who was irrigation minister in the BRS government, appeared before the panel on June 9.

Before him, BJP Lok Sabha Eatala Rajender, who was finance minister in the BRS government, was questioned by the commission on June 6.

The damage to the barrages of the Kaleshwaram project became a key issue during the 2023 assembly elections in the state.

Telangana Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy recently said the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) has labelled the Kaleshwaram project, built at a cost of over Rs one lakh crore, to be "probably" the biggest man-made disaster in the country.

Referring to the ruling Congress's criticism about some piers of the Medigadda barrage of the 'sinking' in 2023, Harish Rao has said the Kaleshwaram project comprises many other parts and that they are all intact.