Hyderabad, June 9 (IANS) Senior Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader and former Telangana Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao appeared before the PC Ghose Commission on Monday in connection with the ongoing probe into alleged irregularities in the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP).

Harish Rao arrived at BRK Bhavan, the venue for the Commission’s proceedings, amid a show of strength by party leaders and supporters who gathered at the BRS headquarters, Telangana Bhavan, to express solidarity. BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao met him before his appearance to offer support.

The Commission, led by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose, is investigating suspected lapses in the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of the Medigadda, Annaram, and Sundilla barrages under the Kaleshwaram project.

Speaking to the media before his deposition, Harish Rao said he was fully prepared to answer all questions. “We have complete faith in the judicial system. The truth will come out, and justice will prevail,” he said. He also alleged that the Congress government was doing injustice to farmers in the name of an inquiry.

Rao served as the Irrigation Minister from 2014 to 2018, the crucial period during which the Kaleshwaram project — one of the world’s largest lift irrigation schemes — was approved and executed by the then BRS government. His deposition is expected to focus on decisions related to project approvals, budget allocations, and oversight of execution.

He is the second senior leader to depose before the Commission. Earlier on June 6, BJP MP and former Minister Eatala Rajender appeared before the panel. Rajender, who held the finance portfolio between 2014 and 2018, distanced himself from project-related decisions, stating that financial and construction aspects were handled solely by the Irrigation Department.

“I had no role in the Kaleshwaram project. Decisions were taken by the Cabinet based on inputs from technical committees,” Rajender had said after his deposition. He had also served as Health Minister during BRS’s second term but was dismissed from the Cabinet by then Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) in 2021 amid land-grab allegations, after which he joined the BJP.

The Commission has also summoned KCR. He was initially directed to appear on June 5 but sought a deferral and is now scheduled to appear on June 11.

Constituted in March 2024, the one-man Ghose Commission was set up shortly after structural failures were reported at the Medigadda barrage, including the collapse of piers. The Commission’s term has already been extended seven times, with the latest extension pushing the deadline to July 31, 2025.

So far, over 100 engineers, both serving and retired, have been examined. Many either admitted procedural lapses or claimed to be unaware of key decisions. The Commission is also reviewing critical documents, including the final report by the National Dam Safety Authority, a Vigilance report, and various government files related to the project.

The latest summons to KCR, Harish Rao, and Rajender was issued a day after the Commission’s term was extended, signaling the final phase of a probe that has put the flagship BRS-era irrigation project under intense political and legal scrutiny.

–IANS

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