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Telangana: Irrigation Minister holds BRS govt responsible for Kaleshwaram project collapse

Hyderabad, Apr 29 (UNI) After the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) in its report confirmed the structural collapse of all three barrages of Kaleshwaram project, Telangana Irrigation & Civil Supplies Minister Capt N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Tuesday squarely blamed the previous BRS government for the collapse of the said project, calling it the biggest man-made disaster since independence and the most expensive engineering failure caused by any state government in the country.
Releasing the final report of the NDSA at Dr B R Ambedkar Telangana Secretariat here, Uttam said the findings confirmed the structural collapse of all three barrages—Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla—and exposed the inefficiency, negligence, and deliberate mismanagement of the previous regime under former chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR).
Uttam said the Kaleshwaram project was not based on scientific principles but on a campaign of lies, propaganda and false publicity.
The NDSA report also confirmed that safety protocols were ignored, borehole investigations were inadequate and maintenance records were absent, in violation of legal mandates.
The NDSA report recommended urgent stabilisation, repair and rehabilitation of the damaged structures, and the Minister stressed the need for expert-driven technical intervention.
He assured that the Congress government would take necessary steps.
“All decisions will be taken after Cabinet discussion. Action will follow as per law. Those who gave the orders that led to this disaster will be held accountable,” he said.
“Technical institutions like WALAMTARI, which once trained irrigation engineers, must be urgently strengthened. We are working on a scientific plan, with expert inputs and no political interference,” he said.
“This is not politics. This is a rare and gross failure of public infrastructure. A judicial commission has already been constituted and will take note of these facts,” he said.
Uttam said Telangana is currently paying Rs 16,000 crore annually towards interest and installments on high-cost loans borrowed during the BRS regime for this faulty project, placing an enormous burden on the State’s finances and its farmers.
He reminded the public that the original plan was the Dr B R Ambedkar Pranahita-Chevella Project at Tummadihatti, for which even the then TRS government had sought national project status. However, KCR abandoned it and instead reengineered and redesigned everything to launch Kaleshwaram, falsely promising that both projects would be completed, he said.
Instead of sustainable planning, the previous regime opted for hurried execution funded by high-interest loans, resulting in massive financial losses, he alleged.
“All three barrages have structurally collapsed, he said that the barrages were originally designed to regulate just 2 TMC of river water. However, over 10 TMC was stored in each, driven purely by a publicity agenda, causing foundational damage and eventual collapse.
“Signs of seepage and damage were noticed as early as 2019, but the BRS government ignored them. This criminal negligence caused financial losses of thousands of crores to Telangana,” he pointed out.
Uttam said “The Kaleshwaram collapse is not a natural tragedy. It is a direct result of the BRS government’s irresponsible decisions. It has dealt a serious blow to Telangana’s finances and to the lives of farmers.
Adviser Adityanath Das is currently reviewing the feasibility of reviving the original Tummadihatti-based Pranahita-Chevella project.
The Minister said this was a moment of reckoning for Telangana, and the Congress government would ensure that no such betrayal happens again.
“This is not politics. This is a rare and gross failure of public infrastructure. A judicial commission has already been constituted and will take note of these facts,” he added.
Ministers Ponnam Prabhakar and Jupally Krishna Rao, Adviser to Telangana Government Mohammed Ali Shabbir, TPCC Working President Jagga Reddy, Lok Sabha MP Balram Naik, and senior officials were also present.
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