Ghose Commission to dig deep into shelving of Pranahita-Chevella project

Hyderabad: The Chandra Ghose Commission on Kaleshwaram is ready to unearth the facts behind the shelving of the Pranahita-Chevella lift irrigation scheme during the previous BRS government. The Commission has decided to probe the reasons for abandoning the Pranahita lift project and replacing it with Kaleshwaram lift scheme during the former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s rule in the state.

“The Commission would conduct a comparative study on the benefits of Pranahita and Kaleshwaram and come out with a report on why the last government has taken up the Kaleshwaram project by spending nearly Rs 1 lakh crore,” a top irrigation official said. The Commission would constitute a Technical Expert Committee to study the entire issue in detail as part of the investigation in the alleged irregularities in the construction of the one of the biggest lift schemes in the country, the Kaleshwaram project.

Sources said that the agreements entered between the then Congress government in erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh with the Maharashtra counterpart to construct Pranahita and the pact between the BRS government and Maharashtra government on Kaleshwaram would figure as the main issues in the comparative study on the two projects. “What prompted the KCR government to shelve Pranahita and why did the former CM preferred to go with Kaleshwaram? We will analyse with statistical data the expenditure, available water resources for the two lift projects, land acquisition, submergence in the two states and economic viability,” a senior official said.

Sources said that the Irrigation wing would furnish the entire details of the agreements entered by the two previous governments in the Telangana state and in the united AP to the technical committee for the investigation. “Whether the previous government violated the agreement in the construction of Kaleshwaram project will also be probed. The reasons for the cost escalations for the lift svwcheme will be another big part in the investigation of the project by the Commission,” said the official, adding that the Ghose Commission would take up a comprehensive study of the all barrages and pump houses along with expenditure incurred by the KCR government.