Telangana BJP seeks permission to visit Kaleshwaram

Hyderabad: BJP Telangana chief Bandi Sanjay has sought permission from the state government to visit Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP).

Sanjay has written a letter to Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, urging him to give permission for a 30-member delegation of BJP to visit the project built across the Godavari river.

The development is significant in the wake of allegations by BJP leaders of large-scale corruption in the project, billed as the world’s largest lift irrigation project.

At a public meeting in Hanamkonda on Saturday, BJP national president J. P. Nadda alleged that Kaleshwaram has become synonymous with corruption. He said the cost of the project has increased by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) from Rs 40,000 crore to Rs 1.40 lakh crore. He reiterated that the project has become an ATM for Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.

Union water resources minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat also alleged recently that corruption exceeded all limits in Kaleshwaram. He also claimed that the project was built without any approvals.

In July, two pump houses of Kaleshwaram project were submerged in floodwaters of Godavari. The opposition parties have slammed the TRS government over submergence and alleged that faulty design led to the incident.

Last month, a delegation of Congress leaders were arrested by police when they were heading to visit the Kaleshwaram project. The Congress party has demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged corruption.

In this context, the state BJP chief has sought permission to visit Kaleshwaram in the first week of September. He wrote to the chief secretary that the delegation will comprise MPs, MLAs, former public representatives and irrigation experts.

The BJP chief said they want to clear their doubts about the construction of Kaleshwaram project and the reasons for its submergence. He said the delegation wanted to assess the damage caused to motors due to the submergence.

Sanjay, who is a member of Parliament from Karimnagar, recalled that in 1998 opposition parties were allowed to visit Srisailam project to see the damage occured to the turbines due to floods.

The BJP leader also claimed that between 2004 and 2009 the then government Ahad invited opposition parties to clear their doubts about various irrigation projects under the Jal Yagnam programme.

Sanjay wanted the state government to send irrigation officials with the BJP delegation to clear their doubts.