Hyderabad: The cost of Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS), a multi-purpose irrigation project on the Godavari river, which was established and re-engineered under former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao rule, has increased by 400 percent as compared to its initial estimate, said a report published by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) stated.
Aimed at increasing the area under irrigation by 50 percent, the cost of the project also skyrocketed from Rs 38,000 crore to Rs 1.5 lakh crore, so far as. However, several pending works are yet to be completed.
The CAG report revealed that substantial amounts of the increased project cost were pocketed by the contractors, more particularly Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited.
In terms of contract management of the Kaleshwaram project, the CAG in its report held that the BRS government gave the contractors an undue benefit of Rs 25,188.43 crore.
A CAG report published two years ago clearly stated that the re-engineered Kaleshwaram project was “economically unviable and ab-initio.”
The government projected an annual energy requirement of 13,558 million units for lifting 180 TMC ft of water and brazenly, the cost of power was worked out at Rs 3 per unit, against the actual rate of Rs 6.4, at which discoms have been supplying to lift irrigation schemes in the state.
The CAG pointed out that the projected energy cost is Rs 4,148 crore against the actual cost of Rs 9,400 crore.
The CAG report also stated that the initial interest burden was estimated at 10 percent of Rs 81,000 crore ie; the cost of the project, at Rs 8,191 crore per annum adding that with a jump in costs the interest burden would also escalate to Rs 15,000 crore.
The CAG also observed that the BRS government went ahead with re-engineering without exploring alternative ways to make the best use of the old B.R. Ambedkar Pranahita-Chevella Sujala Sravanti (PCSS) launched by erstwhile Andhra Pradesh chief minister Dr Y S Rajashekar Reddy-led government in the undivided state.
Comparing the new scheme with the one proposed by YS Rajashekar Reddy, covering only 16.4 lakh acres, the CAG stated that the new scheme would cater to 24.96 lakh acres, however, would increase the project cost by more than Rs 1.2 lakh crore.
The report also alleged that, in the case of the now-sinking Medigadda Barrage, consultants were only given a span of four months by the Telangana government to come up with detailed estimates of the project, while soil testing itself would only take up to a year.
