The Telangana High Court has given interim relief to former CM K Chandrashekar Rao and ex-minister T Harish Rao, ruling no action will be taken against them in the Kaleshwaram Dam case until October 7.
The Telangana High Court on Tuesday granted interim protection to former chief minister and BRS president K Chandrashekar Rao, along with former minister T Harish Rao, from any adverse action arising from the Justice P C Ghose Commission’s report on the Kaleshwaram Dam project. A division bench headed by Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G M Mohiuddin passed the orders after the state government assured that no action would be taken against the petitioners based on the Commission’s findings, reported The Times of India.
Investigation into Kaleshwaram Dam irregularities
The court clarified that the ongoing CBI investigation into alleged irregularities at the Kaleshwaram Dam is based on reports from the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) and other central agencies, and not on the Commission’s report.
Advocate General A Sudarshan Reddy told the court that no ‘action taken report’ linked to the Commission has been tabled in the Assembly, and no proceedings have been initiated against the petitioners based on its recommendations. He also emphasized that the Commission’s report will not be sent to the CBI as the foundation for its probe, per the TOI report.
The petitioners, however, had argued that adverse findings from the report could potentially be used against them. Recording submissions from both sides, the bench directed the state to file its reply to pending applications and counter-affidavits. The matter has now been scheduled for further hearing on October 7.
About Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project
The Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) is a multi-purpose irrigation scheme built on the Godavari River at Kaleshwaram in Bhupalpally district, Telangana. It is designed to provide water for irrigation, drinking, and industrial use across 13 districts of the state. KLIP is the largest multi-stage lift irrigation project in the world. It consists of 7 links and 28 packages, covering about 500 km with a canal network stretching over 1,800 km.
The project is engineered to lift and distribute about 240 TMC of water annually. Of this, 169 TMC is meant for irrigation, while other allocations include 30 TMC for Hyderabad city, 16 TMC for industries, and 10 TMC for drinking water in nearby villages. KLIP has four major pumping stations, with the Ramadugu facility being one of the largest in Asia. Special high-capacity pumps were developed by BHEL. Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited executed most of the pump house construction.
Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project was inaugurated on 21 June 2019 by then Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao. Later, the National Green Tribunal ruled that it was built without fully following environmental clearance procedures.