Telangana Ready to Rehabilitate Kaleshwaram Barrages as per NDSA Recommendations: CM
Hyderabad, July 11 (TNT) :Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Saturday said the State government was ready to rehabilitate the damaged Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages under the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project in accordance with the recommendations of the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA).
Addressing a press conference here, the Chief Minister urged BJP MP Etela Rajender to lead a delegation to New Delhi to apprise the NDSA of the condition of the three barrages and persuade the Centre to facilitate their restoration.
He also asked the BJP leader to secure the Union government’s approval for a CBI probe into the alleged Kaleshwaram project scam.
Rejecting the demand for release of water through the Kannepalli (Lakshmi) Pump House, Revanth Reddy said such a move was technically unfeasible and contrary to the recommendations of the NDSA.
He alleged that BRS president and former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) and other party leaders were misleading the public by demanding water release through the damaged barrages.
Citing the NDSA’s final report, the Chief Minister said the authority had concluded that the Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages were unsuitable for water storage due to structural damage.
He said the report recommended that restoration works, repairs and design modifications should be undertaken only with the approval of the NDSA or the Central Water Commission.
Revanth Reddy said a minimum water level of 93.5 metres was required to operate the Kannepalli Pump House, while the present level stood at around 89.9 metres.
He added that storing water at Annaram and Sundilla would require closing the barrage gates, which the NDSA had advised against on safety grounds.
The Chief Minister said the Union government had recently constituted a technical committee to oversee the rehabilitation of the three barrages and reiterated that the State government was prepared to hand over the restoration work to the NDSA if required.
Launching a sharp attack on the BRS, Revanth Reddy accused the party of spreading misinformation on the issue and alleged that its leaders were attempting to politicise a technical matter.
He also criticised Etela Rajender for supporting the BRS demand without consulting irrigation experts or studying the NDSA report.
The Chief Minister questioned the Centre for not ordering a CBI inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the Kaleshwaram project despite the State government’s decision to hand over the case to the central agency through Government Order No. 104 issued on September 1, 2025.
Tracing the chronology of the project, Revanth Reddy said defects in the Medigadda barrage had been flagged by irrigation officials in May 2020, less than a year after the project was inaugurated in June 2019, but the then BRS government allegedly failed to act.
He said the sinking of piers at the Medigadda barrage in October 2023 eventually led to inspections by the NDSA, which cited deficiencies in planning, design and maintenance in its reports.
TNT TS
