Ex E-in-C spills Medigadda beans

Hyderabad: Former Engineer-in-Chief (Irrigation) C Muralidhar, who played a key role in the construction of the multi-crore irrigation projects during the BRS regime, spilled beans before Justice Chandra Ghose commission on the alleged irregularities in the construction of the Medigadda barrage and also Kaleshwaram project. The retired irrigation official admitted that there have been faults in the construction of the important barrages in Kaleshwaram.

During more than 2-hour grilling by the Commission, the retired irrigation official disclosed details saying that funds were released to contract agencies even before the completion of the works and the malpractices at the field level at Medigadda and other barrages at the time of construction. The Commission, armed with an 8-page questionnaire, grilled Muralidhar and sought detailed answers. Official sources said that the irrigation official admitted that the designs of the barrages were changed midway and that the project designs in the DPRs were not the same when they were grounded at the sites.

He informed the commission that the negligence of officials at the field level could be the main reason for not maintaining quality in the construction of the barrages, mainly Medigadda where the piers got sunk last year.

Muralidhar also explained that the government paid the bills to the contract agencies based on the reports submitted by the field engineers.

The authorities did not pay attention to cross check the reports before clearing the bills. He is learnt to have said that there was no quality control during construction of some structures. As the government had set a deadline, most of the structures were completed in haste without taking up mandatory tests. He is also said to have stated that there has been cost escalation in the project construction and explained the reasons for it. Sources said that the Commission cross examined him on every issue and asked Muralidhar for his inaction at the time of execution of the projects in quality control and the failure of the operation and management (O&M) of the barrages and the project after the completion of the works.