Verdict Doesn’t Mean a Clean Chit to Anyone: Uttam

Hyderabad:Irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Wednesday said the Telangana High Court’s verdict in the case questioning the Justice PC Ghose inquiry commission report “does not give clear information to anyone”.

The minister also said that today’s decision does not stop the CBI from initiating investigations into matters related to the Kaleshwaram project and Medigadda dam, as already requested by the Telangana government.

“In fact, last September, after a detailed discussion in Parliament on the Justice Ghose report, the government had made it clear that it would not take any action based on the judiciary committee’s report. We had said right then that we had asked the CBI to investigate and we hope that will happen,” Uttam Kumar Reddy said. He added that the CBI, as well as the judicial commission, have sufficient copies of the interim injunction and NDSA reports on Medigadda to initiate their investigation.

The government will decide on the next course of action after reviewing the entire decision, the official said. Uttam Kumar Reddy made it clear that the court orders were related to a plea seeking quashing of Government Order No. 6 establishing the Justice PC Ghosh Commission. The Supreme Court found no fault in the composition of the commission or its findings. It was made clear that the appointment of the commission was neither arbitrary, illegal nor unauthorized.

The Minister stated that the Supreme Court objected to some of the findings made against individuals in the commission report and that notifications were not made to them in the prescribed format. “And the relief granted to the petitioners was limited to merely stating that no action should be taken against them based on the judicial commission’s report. This does not mean that anyone gets a clean chit,” said Uttam Kumar Reddy.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said dams were built and demolished during the BRS rule. In fact, the dams caused leaks soon after they were opened and even the first report of NDSA was sent to the government during the BRS administration. “Our government has the obligation to hold accountable anyone who is found responsible for the huge loss suffered by the state due to the Kaleshwaram project. The Kaleshwaram project is the biggest man-made disaster in the country. Valuable public money has been wasted,” the irrigation minister said.

On BRS’s claims that only two jetties in one block of the Medigadda dam have been damaged, Uttam Kumar Reddy said experts from reputed national institutions have already “expressed an opinion that not only the two jetties but also the foundations of all the three dams are in a questionable condition”.