Congress Demands CBI Probe Into Kaleshwaram Project

Senior Congress leader and former minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir on Thursday demanded that the union government order a CBI probe into the alleged corruption in the execution of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS).

Reacting to the allegations of corruption levelled by Union Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and the counter given by Telangana's Finance Minister T Harish Rao, the Congress leader alleged that the BJP and the TRS leaders were indulging in a blame game to cover up the scam.

"Union minister Shekhawat had alleged that corruption had exceeded all limits in the KLIS. In this scenario, the Centre should immediately order a CBI probe. It should also engage the Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax Department to trace the swindled public money. The BJP is running the government at the Centre. Therefore, its leaders should not speak in the tone of just an opposition party. If the TRS government has done something wrong, then the Centre should take immediate action by ordering a probe," he said.

Shabbir Ali also ridiculed the counter given by minister Harish Rao to the union minister's allegations of corruption in the KLIS.

"If the TRS government is honest and did nothing wrong in the execution of KLIS, then why did it prevent the delegation of the Congress Legislature Party from visiting the Kaleshwaram and other irrigation projects? The Congress leaders wanted to see the pump houses which got submerged in the recent floods. However, the TRS government stopped the Congress leaders by using the police and the entire local administration. Why are you not allowing the opposition to inspect the place if you have nothing to hide?" he asked Rao.

He said that the Congress had been highlighting the "huge corruption" by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and his family members in the execution of irrigation projects, especially the Kaleshwaram project. He said that the project was redesigned only to increase its cost by a factor of three to benefit the contractors and get commissions from them. Further, sub-standard materials and machinery were used in the construction of the barrages, and pump houses and other motors. Although public money to the tune of more than Rs 1.5 lakh crore was spent on the KLIS and other projects, the entire construction activity was kept secret. For the first time in history, no opposition leader or media was allowed near the project. The recent floods had exposed the corruption of the TRS leaders in the KLIS, and the state government was trying hard to cover up the scam, Shabbir Ali said.

The Congress leader demanded that the Centre immediately order a CBI probe into the KLIS and impose a ban on foreign travel for all the contractors and sub-contractors involved, the KCR family and all others associated with the project. He expressed fear that those involved in the scam would flee the country along with the necessary evidence.

"This is the time for the BJP to prove that it is not a secret ally of the TRS. Lack of action despite the union minister levelling allegations of huge corruption will prove that both the BJP and TRS are one, and are trying to shield each other's corrupt practices," he said.