7 months ago
3
The Telangana High Court connected Wednesday extended till January 19, 2026 the interim orders not to initiate adverse enactment against erstwhile Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and 3 others based successful the findings of P.C. Ghose Commission implicit irregularities successful Kaleshwaram task execution.
The different 3 included erstwhile Minister T. Harish Rao, erstwhile main caput S.K. Joshi and elder IAS serviceman Smita Sabharwal. All the 4 filed writ petitions separately seeking suspension of the study of Judicial Commission of P.C. Ghose constituted by the Congress authorities to inquire into alleged irregularities successful execution of Kaleshwaram project. The authorities filed antagonistic affidavit successful the plea filed by Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao but sought clip to record the aforesaid successful lawsuit of the different three.
The antagonistic affidavit filed by IAS serviceman Rahul Bojja, Principal Secretary of Irrigation and Command Area Development, stated that Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao intentionally suppressed the important study of an adept committee which warned against constructing the barrage astatine Medigadda. The affidavit said the study was kept successful acold retention by him to physique the barrage astatine a tract determination preferred by him.
The Commission successful its study said Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao, the past CM, was complicit successful this suppression and ‘intentionally had not considered the study of the adept committee’. The irregularity of failing to enactment upon the adept study resulted successful imposition of infructuous expenditure of astir ₹7,500 crore upon the State Exchequer. The elder officer, 2nd responsive successful the writ petition, stated that the ‘critical’ administrative approvals for operation of barrages astatine Medigadda, Annaram and Sundial ‘were ne'er placed earlier oregon ratified by the Council of Ministers’.
This amounted to a ‘profound breach of the Conduct of Business Rules nether Article 166 of the Constitution’, the affidavit said. The administrative approvals were granted 11 months earlier the Detailed Project Report was submitted to the Central Water Commission for vetting. The information that statutory clearances related to Hydrology, inter-State matters, operation machinery consultancy were secured overmuch aboriginal proved that the decisions were made earlier requisite method scrutiny was completed by the Central agencies.
The Revised Administrative Approvals provided ‘unjustified extensions of clip successful a callous manner. Relaxing conditions similar transferring the outgo of coffer dam bund operation (which was expected to beryllium borne by the contractor originally) to the State Exchequer was termed by the Commission arsenic ‘clinching grounds of an intent to siphon nationalist funds to unduly favour agency’, the affidavit said.
The authorities stated that Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao’s contention that helium was not fixed an accidental to explicate his basal successful accordance with the Commissions of Inquiry Act was ‘misconceived’. Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao himself, aft appearing earlier the Commission, requested it for in-camera examination. He did not inquire for immoderate cross-examination oregon for immoderate records. His contention that the Commission violated conception 8-B and 8-C of the Act was erroneous, the affidavit said.
