The detailed report of the Justice P C Ghose Commission, tabled in the state assembly on Sunday, held Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) president and former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) solely responsible for the sinking of the Medigadda barrage and damage to two other barrages in the Kaleshwaram project, causing massive financial losses to the state exchequer.
According to the report, KCR ignored expert advice, acted autocratically in planning and execution, and committed serious errors in determining the locations of the barrages.
The commission highlighted that neither the engineering experts, the cabinet sub-committee, nor the high-power committee had ever recommended building barrages at Medigadda, Annaram, or Sundilla.
The decision to shift the project location from Tummidihetti to Medigadda was taken entirely by KCR. The report asserted that the state government has the legal authority to initiate action against him.
The inquiry found widespread irregularities, poor planning, financial mismanagement, and negligence in supervision throughout the project — from tendering to construction and maintenance.
It dismissed the claims of KCR, former irrigation minister T Harish Rao, and former finance minister Etela Rajender that the cabinet sub-committee had recommended the barrage sites.
Shockingly, the report revealed that KCR functioned like an “engineer” rather than a chief minister — finalizing alignment, design, and capacity of the barrages using Google Maps.
Cabinet approval was bypassed for several crucial decisions, and official files bore only the signatures of KCR and Harish Rao.
The commission noted that administrative approvals for the three barrages were issued on March 1, 2016, while the final DPR by WAPCOS was submitted only on March 27, 2016 — showing that major decisions were taken prematurely without necessary technical validation.
An expert panel had earlier recommended building a barrage at Vemanapalli on the Pranahita river, citing stronger economic viability. This report was suppressed, and the Medigadda plan was pushed forward instead.
It further exposed that the DPR for Kaleshwaram was officially submitted to the Central Water Commission (CWC) only in February 2017, whereas the Telangana government had already granted administrative approvals in March 2016 and signed contracts with construction firms by mid-2016.
“By March 2018, the state had already spent ₹30,653 crore, even before receiving CWC’s formal clearance,” the report stated.
