The Telangana government has handed over the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe alleged irregularities, misuse of public funds, and corruption.
Earlier, the state had formed a commission headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose to examine lapses in the construction of the Medigadda, Annaram, and Sundilla barrages. The commission submitted its report on July 31, 2025, confirming negligence, suppression of facts, and financial irregularities. The report was approved by the Revanth Reddy Cabinet on August 4 . It is now slated to be tabled in the Telangana Assembly.
The National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) also found that damage to the Medigadda barrage was caused by poor planning, weak design, and a lack of quality control. Both reports called for a deeper investigation.
Given the involvement of central PSUs like WAPCOS and financial institutions such as PFC and REC in the project’s design, construction, and funding, the state decided to bring in the CBI.
During the Assembly discussion, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy revealed that the Kaleshwaram Corporation had borrowed ₹85,449 crore. Of this, ₹27,738 crore was taken from PFC at 11.5% interest and ₹30,536 crore at 12% interest. So far, ₹49,835 crore has been repaid — ₹19,879 crore as principal and ₹29,956 crore as interest. But ₹60,869 crore remains outstanding. An additional ₹47,000 crore is required to complete the remaining works.
The Chief Minister also pointed out that on October 21, 2020, an engineer had lodged a complaint about damage at the Medigadda barrage with the Mahadevpur police. The then CM K. Chandrashekar Rao was informed but barred public access to the site by deploying police.
Reddy accused the previous BRS government of gross misuse of public money through the project. He said the case has now been referred to the CBI for a full investigation as per laid-down guidelines.
(Story by Shaik Mohsin.)