September 1, 2025

In a nail-biting marathon debate lasting over 10 hours on Sunday, the Telangana Assembly shook the ground with a powerful decision! The Telangana government has decided to unleash a full Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged irregularities and corruption riddling the grand Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project. At an intense session ending at 1:30 am Monday, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy declared, "This case deserves a CBI probe," pointing to the eye-opening findings of the Justice PC Ghose Commission. The Commission uncovered irregularities at various levels — from messy project approvals to blatant misuse of public funds and shocking corruption in building the Medigadda, Annaram, and Sundilla barrages. This crisis hit headlines when some pillars of the Medigadda barrage, the heartbeat of the multi-level irrigation system, collapsed in October 2023, just weeks before the big December 2024 Assembly elections, sparking massive political heat. Soon after taking power, the Congress government called in Justice PC Ghose to uncover the truth behind these irregularities and alleged embezzlement. Adding fuel to the fire, the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) report clearly stated that poor planning, bad design, and weak quality control were behind the damage. The NDSA warned that these defects came from poor quality work and weak maintenance. The Chief Minister strongly emphasized, "The NDSA and the Commission reports have made it clear that a deeper and more comprehensive investigation is required on all these issues." Since the project involves many players, including Central Public Sector Undertakings like WAPCOS and financial giants such as Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and Rural Electrification Corporation (REC), the Telangana government believes handing over the case to the CBI is the right move. Revanth Reddy spilled some serious beans during the debate, revealing, "The Kaleshwaram Corporation was established for the construction of the Kaleshwaram project and had borrowed ₹85,449 crores." He added the former BRS government borrowed ₹27,738 crores at a steep 11.5% interest from the Power Finance Corporation. The saga continues as the project still needs a whopping ₹47,000 crore to complete the remaining works. The Chief Minister didn’t hold back his punches: "The BRS rulers swindled public money through the Kaleshwaram project." With politics, money, and mega construction all tangled in this mega irrigation saga, the CBI probe is expected to uncover the full story. Will justice flow as freely as water is meant to? The people of Telangana await answers eagerly!

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Tags: Kaleshwaram project, Cbi probe, Telangana government, Corruption, Irregularities, Revanth reddy,