The report named several former Engineers-in-Chief and current Chief Engineers, and Superintending Engineers and suggested that penalties be imposed on 33 engineers. It also recommended that the government take action against seven retired engineers.
Published Jun 03, 2025 | 8:59 AM ⚊ Updated Jun 03, 2025 | 8:59 AM
The Medigadda barrage. (Deepika Pasham/South First)
Synopsis: The Telangana State Vigilance Commission recommended criminal action against the irrigation department officials and the construction company who were negligent in the construction of the Medigadda Barrage of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme.
The Telangana State Vigilance Commission recommended criminal action against 17 irrigation department officials who were negligent in the construction of the Medigadda Barrage of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project.
In its report to the government, the commission also stated that criminal action should be taken against L&T PES, the company which was involved in the construction of the barrage.
The report named several former Engineers-in-Chief and current Chief Engineers, and Superintending Engineers and suggested that penalties be imposed on 33 engineers. It also recommended that the government take action against seven retired engineers.
The commission has stated in its report that there was complete negligence at the field level.
On 5 March, the Vigilance and Enforcement Director General submitted a report which flagged serious lapses in design, supervision, quality control, and execution.
Meanwhile, the Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose commission, appointed to probe alleged irregularities in the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme, has summoned former Telangana chief minister and BRS President K Chandrashekar Rao to appear before it on 5 June.
The commission has also issued notices to former Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao and former finance minister Eatala Rajender, asking them to appear on 6 June and 9 June, respectively, to record their statements.
The commission was set up by the Congress-led government under Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy in March 2024, following the collapse of the Medigadda barrage and suspected structural weaknesses in the remaining two barrages at Annaram and Sundilla.
The three barrages form an integral part of the KLIS, touted as the world’s largest lift irrigation initiative. The project involves a vast network of barrages, canals, and high-capacity pumps designed to lift water from the Godavari river and irrigate drought-prone areas across Telangana.
Earlier, the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA)’s final report, dated 24 April, on the Medigadda barrage pointed out engineering mismanagement, structural flaws, inadequate planning and systemic oversight. It said all of them together led to the debacle of the multi-crore project, built by the previous BRS government.
The report described the collapse of the Medigadda piers and the structural weaknesses found in the other two barrages of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme as “the worst man-made disaster ever in the history of India”.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
