Public Money Worth Rs 1 Lakh Crore Wasted On Kaleshwaram LI Project: Union Minister

New Delhi: Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil came down on the Telangana government for its handling of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, the minister said Rs 1 lakh crore of public money was wasted on the project, attributing it to severe planning and design flaws. A central committee is currently investigating the collapse of the project, he said.

Patil was responding to BRS member Suresh Reddy who had sought that the project be recognized as a national project and funds be allocated to it under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana scheme. The minister explained that the failure of Kaleshwaram was due to poor planning and design flaws.

Referring to the NDSA report on the subsidence of Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages, Patil said that a central team is studying the flaws in the project. When Congress MP Anil Kumar Yadav demanded a CBI inquiry into the corruption in implementing the Kaleshwaram project, the minister shot back stating that the Telangana government was negligent in the use of Jal Jeevan Mission funds.

Patil said Telangana has Jal Jeevan Mission funds worth Rs 873 crore of which the state has spent only Rs 194 crore in the last three years.

The Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project is the world's largest multi-stage, multi-purpose lift irrigation scheme, located on the Godavari River in Kaleshwaram, Telangana. It aimed to transform 13 districts into fertile lands by lifting water up to 600 meters to irrigate over 18 lakh acres, bringing water to drought-prone areas.

In October, 2023, the Medigadda Barrage, a key component of the project, saw piers sink, leading to it being deemed damaged and leading to a halt in operations. The Telangana government initiated a CBI probe following reports of structural deficiencies, financial irregularities, and poor planning. The project's expenditure exceeded Rs 86,000 crore as of March 2022, per the Comptroller and Auditor General of India report

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