(Prashanth Reddy)
Telangana Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka cautioned Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy on the invitation being extended to him by CM KCR for the inauguration of Kaleswaram Project on June 21,2019.
According to Bhatti KCR was inviting Jagan only to get his endorsement for the shelving of old designs of Kaleswaram project prepared by the then chief minister and his father YS Rajasekhar Reddy.
“KCR shelved the original project christened by YSR as the ‘B.R. Ambedkar Pranahita Chevelle project’. The cost of the project was Just Rs.38,000. But after coming to power, KCR and his family members got the name changed. The project was redesigned. The cost of the redesigned project was hiked first to Rs 80,500 crore and later to Rs 1 lakh crore, as per the wishes of KCR’s family,” Bhatti alleged.
Stating that the state could have saved a huge amount of tax-payers’ money, the Congress veteran said out of the proposed project cost Rs 38,000 crore, Rs 10,000 crore had already been spent and the balance amount to be paid was only ₹28,000 crore.
As per EPC contract system, he said, the contractor would have to complete the project with the balance amount Rs 28,000 crore irrespective of any rise or fall in project cost.
Had the project been continued with the designs approved by YSR as much as 16.50 lakh acres of land would have come under irrigation with just Rs 28,000 crore, he averred.
“Now, the State government has already spent Rs 50,000 crore on the redesigned project after discarding YSR plans, and changing the name of the project with dubious new designs, without a single acre being given water, ” Bhatti said.
Bhatti said as Congress had been raising the rationale behind the discarding of the YSR project and hiking the project cost, KCR is strategically inviting AP CM Jagan to the inauguration of the project.
This is only to get Jagan’s endorsement to the shelving of original, people-friendly and cost-effective Dr. BR Ambedkar Pranahita-Chevella Project, initiated by YSR.
Leveling serious charges of corruption, Bhatti said the TRS regime was trying to prevent the corruption behind the project redesigning from being raised on the floor and out of the Assembly by engineering a split in the Congress party.
The T-CLP leader cautioned Jagan Mohan Reddy to see through what he called the nefarious intent of KCR who wants to prove what Rajasekhara Reddy did was wrong.
According Bhatti, the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the project has not even been provided to MLAs.