SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao on Saturday, November 7, accused the Telangana government of manipulating the tender related to the Kodangal–Narayanpet–Makthal Lift Irrigation Scheme in favour of a company owned by Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy.
Attacking the Congress government, Rao said, “The project cost has escalated from Rs.1,450 crore to Rs.6,825 crore. Telangana’s wealth is being plundered in the name of projects, while the public is left waiting for water.”
The former IT minister claimed that the other participating firms were merely “paper entities” or small companies. “The entire process was orchestrated to ensure only one company remained in the fray and eventually emerged as the winner,” indirectly referring to Ponguleti.
“Heads they win, tails they will only win. What a set-up! Congress MP Rahul Gandhiji, help me find a new word, please! Crony Capitalism, Daylight Robbery, Kleptocracy! All too small for this loot,” read his X post.
He raised concerns over a sharp increase in the estimated cost of the irrigation project, highlighting that the cost, which stood at approximately Rs 1,450 crore in 2014, had now reached Rs 6,825 crore, marking an almost five-fold increase.
KTR alleged that the estimated cost of the project was inflated on the pretext of construction. The BRS working president also alleged that the tendering process was manipulated to leave no scope for transparency.
The Kodangal Lift Irrigation Scheme is being designed to lift Krishna River water to over 1.6 lakh acre of dry and drought-prone land in Makthal, Narayanpet and Kodangal areas.
SOURCE : SIASAT
