Revanth Reddy challenges KCR for a joint session on Kaleshwaram amid accusations of project mismanagement.

Hyderabad:

The political battle over the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme intensified on Tuesday with Chief Minister Revanth Reddy throwing an open challenge to BRS president K. Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR) to face a special joint session of the Telangana Assembly and Legislative Council on the project, even as he blamed the former Chief Minister of turning the Rs 1.02 lakh crore irrigation scheme into an "economic disaster."

Revanth Reddy said his government was ready to convene a special joint session on any date chosen by KCR. "Let KCR write to the Assembly Speaker and finalise the date. We are prepared for a comprehensive debate and will ensure the House functions without compromising his dignity," he said.

Launching a scathing attack, the Chief Minister called former Chief Minister KCR, BRS working president KT Rama Rao (KTR) and former irrigation minister T. Harish Rao as "economic terrorists."

"Those who wasted public money and pushed Telangana into debt through Kaleshwaram are economic terrorists," Revanth said, alleging that the project estimates were repeatedly escalated while engineering standards were compromised.

The Chief Minister alleged that the Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages were constructed without proper soil investigations and ignored technical warnings against building a barrage at Medigadda.

He claimed ''Medigadda, the backbone of the project, was built on weak foundations and later collapsed because of poor construction quality.''

Questioning the BRS demand to resume pumping water from the Kannepalli pump house, CM asked, "How can water be lifted when there are no adequate inflows? Kaleshwaram was designed to lift floodwaters. Without rainfall or water availability, how can the pumps operate?"

Referring to BRS' offer that L&T was willing to repair the damaged Medigadda barrage free of cost, the Chief Minister said the government was even ready to entrust maintenance of the Kaleshwaram barrages to KCR for three years provided the BRS first explained how the project reached its present condition.

"First explain why the barrages failed. Then talk about handing them over," he said.

Revanth also blamed the previous BRS government for leaving Telangana with a debt burden of Rs 8.21 lakh crore during its decade in power and said the Congress government was working with experts to scientifically restore the damaged barrages instead of risking public safety.

The comment came amid an aggressive BRS campaign alleging the Congress government of deliberately refusing to operate the Kaleshwaram pumps despite available floodwaters.

BRS working present KTR has said that only two of Medigadda's 370 pillars were damaged, claimed L&T had offered to repair them at its own cost, and warned that the BRS would launch protests if the government continued to keep the pumps idle.

He also alleged that 26 of Telangana's 33 districts were facing drought-like conditions and accused the Congress government of refusing to operate the Kaleshwaram pumps out of "political vendetta" against KCR.

"Revanth Reddy is punishing farmers because of his grudge against KCR. If the government has the courage, it should start the motors immediately," he Has said, warning that the BRS would mobilise thousands of farmers to the Kannepalli pump house if the government continued to keep the project idle.