Ahead of PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Ramagundam in Telangana, YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) leader YS Sharmila, who is in the city for her padayatra, wrote to him, seeking immediate investigation into irregularities in Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP).
The party has also launched a poster campaign to bring the issue to the notice of the Prime Minister. The posters saying ‘Dear PM, please react, where is action against corruption in Kaleshwaram?’ have been plastered across Ramagundam, Godavarikhani and the surrounding villages.
In the letter, Sharmila wrote: “We would like to draw your attention to the fact that KLIP was earlier called Ambedkar Pranahitha Chevella Project by my father Dr YSR; and was planned with an outlay of roughly INR 40000 crore only. After Sri K Chandrashekhar Rao came to power in Telangana, his government got the project structure redesigned and renamed it as KLIP. The TRS government ridiculously increased the project cost to INR 1.20 lakh crore, with no additional perceived benefits.”
Her father, YS Rajasekhara Reddy was the former CM of undivided Andhra Pradesh.
She alleged that irregularities, favoritism, falsification of accounts and embezzlement of funds to the tune of Rs 70,000 crore have allegedly taken place in this project.
BUILT ON GODAVARI RIVER
The Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project, touted to be the largest multi-stage lift irrigation project in the world, is built on Godavari river at Kaleshwaram in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district. Time and again, different political parties have raised questions on the costs and benefits of the project. When Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman visited Hyderabad in September, she said the debt incurred by the Kaleshwaram project was 8.25% to 10.9%, which was an unfeasible and unsustainable debt.
In her letter, Sharmila said the KLIP is truly a national scam as the central government PSUs and financial institutions had extended borrowings to the tune of Rs 1 lakh crore. “The most bizarre thing is that despite knowing all these, KCR and his colleagues seem to be going scot-free, as no investigation or enquiry is being considered in this direction, as of today. Your cabinet colleagues, whenever they visited Telangana, have raised hue and cry over this massive corruption, but no action has been taken,” she added.
Earlier, the YSRTP chief had met Comptroller and Auditor General Girija Prasad Murmu in New Delhi and filed a complaint regarding the same matter. When News18 had reached out to a TRS leader to comment on the issue, he had said that YSRTP’s activities are being anchored by the BJP.
The PM is set to visit to visit Ramagundam on Saturday to dedicate Ramagundam Fertilizers and Chemicals plant to the nation.
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