Bhatti Vikramarka defends Ghose report, slams TRS for Kaleshwaram mismanagement

Hyderabad: Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka on Sunday strongly defended the P.C. Ghose Commission report in the Telangana Assembly, accusing the previous BRS government of inflating irrigation project costs, sidelining key projects, and misleading the public over Kaleshwaram.

He criticised BRS leader T. Harish Rao for dismissing the judicial report as “trash,” calling it an admission of guilt. “Are you above accountability?” Bhatti asked, adding that Rao’s long speech in the Assembly was political theatre intended to distract from the report’s findings.

He questioned the rationale behind abandoning the Pranahita–Chevella project, which received approval in 2007 and began in 2009. “With just ₹38,000 crore, we could have irrigated 16.40 lakh acres and supplied water to seven districts, Hyderabad, and nearby industries,” he said.

Bhatti Vikramarka: Ghose report reveals Kaleshwaram failure

Bhatti said ₹11,680 crore was already spent on Pranahita–Chevella, and an additional ₹27,500 crore would have completed it. Instead, the BRS government halted the project, reduced its planned height, and pushed for Kaleshwaram — whose cost ballooned to ₹1.5 lakh crore.

“Projects like Nizamsagar and Pocharam withstood floods for centuries. But Kaleshwaram collapsed without irrigating even a single acre,” he said. He accused the BRS of choosing Kaleshwaram only to enable large-scale corruption. He alleged that electricity bills alone for water pumping touched ₹12,000 crore, with more water flowing downstream than being lifted.

“BRS misled people, claiming Cabinet approval was taken. They wanted Babasaheb’s name removed and used that as a pretext,” Bhatti said. He questioned whether technical advice, like that used in housing schemes, was sought for a project of such scale.

BRS tried to block report, avoided Assembly debate

Bhatti revealed that the Ghose Commission issued a public notice on 27 April 2024, inviting citizens to share information. “Yet BRS leaders claimed they were not notified. They went to court not because they were excluded, but because they feared facing the Assembly,” he said.

He said every major irrigation project initiated by Congress on the Godavari — including Kanthanapally, Dummugudem, Tupakulagudem, Indira and Rajiv Sagar — was stalled or inflated. He accused BRS of inflating the Indira and Rajiv Sagar estimate from ₹1,450 crore to ₹25,000 crore.

Bhatti said the BRS mishandling of these projects triggered new disputes like Banakacharla. “If the Congress-era projects were completed, there would be no Banakacharla issue,” he said. He called Harish Rao’s criticism baseless and challenged him to stick to facts.

Assembly not a stage for BRS political drama, says Bhatti

Bhatti said that while Congress leaders were denied a voice for a decade, they never left the House. “Five of us fought every day for ten years. But when the time comes to answer, BRS leaders create noise, not truth,” he said.

He asserted that the government placed the Ghose report before the House to decide the future of Kaleshwaram. “It is not about blame. It is about protecting this state,” he said. Bhatti added that if KCR had addressed the Assembly, it would have added dignity. “Calling the Ghose report trash only shows where people have thrown you,” he said.