Kaleshwaram project will cost a bomb to wrap up: Top babus

Medigadda: Officials of the irrigation department said on Tuesday that the Kaleshwaram project will cost around Rs 2.5 lakh crore until it gets completed. An amount of Rs 25,000 crore would be required annually for maintenance works.

They maintain the project was also not constructed as per standards.

Engineer-in-Chief Sudhakar Reddy and Vigilance DG Rajiv Ratan made a presentation on the project. They gave an insight into the project, giving details such as how it was first aimed to divert 160 tmcft from Pranahita to Sripada Yellampally.

The officials informed that the total expenditure on the project so far was Rs 94,000 crore. The total area irrigated was 98,570 acres.

Intervening, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said the BRS chief created confusion by saying that one crore acres were irrigated. The power bills will be around Rs 10,500 crore annually, he said. "Till today, KCR spoke lies on the project, which was constructed and damaged. Annaram and Sundilla were also having seepage issues," the CM said.

Sudhakar Reddy said that on October 21, 2023, a pillar got sunk in the eighth block of the 85-pillared Medigadda project. He said, as per the Dam Safety Authority, the piers had sunk due to constrained planning, design, quality control operation, maintenance, and also because of construction deficiencies.

The official said experts found defects in the construction on February 29, 2020; the completion certificate was given on March 15, 2021. He also said the premature inauguration of the project was done.

According to the official, so far the project envisaged lifting 180 tmcft every year, but during the last five years, the total water lifted was only 160 tmcft.

During the last five years, the highest water lifted was 61 tmcft during the initial years.

The official said the project design and drawings need to be examined, along with the results of geotechnical and geological investigations. All piers and rafts need to be surveyed.