Ghose Commission’s Barrage of Charges Against KCR, Harish, Etala
Hyderabad: The three-volume, 650-page report of the Justice PC Ghose commission of inquiry into the Kaleshwaram project dams, submitted to the government last August, had made it clear that the then Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, who led the BRS government, followed by the then irrigation minister T. Harish Rao, as well as the then finance minister Etala Rajendar, who later left the BRS and became a BJP MP, were directly involved in the decision-making processes. The Medigadda dam project is experiencing serious damage.
Top billing in terms of responsibilities for a series of errors that resulted in a section of the Medigadda dam causing serious problems was reserved for Chandrashekar Rao by the Commission. The commission said in its report that the former prime minister was “directly and indirectly responsible for the irregularities and illegalities in the planning, construction, completion, operation and maintenance of the three dams.”
The commission was not satisfied with this, but also said that the “reason” was “its intervention and instructions”, which led to “irregularities” that caused “difficulties in these three dams”. The commission was not only talking about Medigadda but also the dams at Annaram and Sundilla.
The report said the then prime minister “was and was determined in advance to build a dam on Medigadda of his own free choice and the decision-making authorities” facilitated this.
The commission went further and said, “It can be categorically accepted that there was irregularity of stages from the conceptualization phase of the Kaleshwaram project to the issuance of administrative approvals for the construction of three dams on March 1, 2016. This is the decision of individuals and not the government.”
On Harish Rao’s role as irrigation minister during the design and implementation period of the project, the Commission said he allowed the chief minister to fulfill his wishes and was responsible for irregularities. Among the mistakes attributed to Harish Rao was that he and the then prime minister “deliberately disregarded the report of the expert committee”. The commission was referring to a committee set up by the BRS government in January 2015, which in its report had said that a dam at Medigadda was unsustainable and uneconomic and that a dam at Vemanapally on the Pranahita river could be planned instead.
Noting that the committee report was presented to irrigation minister Harish Rao, the Commission stated that this report was hidden and that “the proposal and decision to build dams in Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla belonged to the then irrigation minister and prime minister.” While presenting its evidence to the Commission, the Commission stated that it “did not deny” Harish Rao’s evidence.
Referring to administrative sanctions against dams, the commission said that Harish Rao, like Chandrashekar Rao, signed the dam without Cabinet approval and held that this was a violation of the government’s Code of Business.
Regarding Etala Rajendar’s role as the then finance minister, the Commission had alleged that she was the “implied perpetrator” and that while Harish Rao gave “random instructions”, Rajendar “showed a lack of commitment and integrity in safeguarding the financial and economic health of the newly formed state” and was unaware of key financial decisions related to the project during the Commission’s hearings.
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Some key findings of the Ghose Commission
No proper planning, wrong estimates, illegal approvals
Illegal contracts
Predictions of malicious and unwarranted compliments towards agencies have been revised
Dam designs are fundamentally flawed
Poor quality control, defective construction
No operation and maintenance, no manual, no agreement
Illegal completion certificates and bank deposit releases
financial mismanagement
