Ahead of the interrogation of former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and other BRS leaders by the inquiry commission on the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS), the Opposition party today made a PowerPoint presentation on the project, aiming to counter what it called misinformation propagated by the Congress government.

The BRS argued that the decision to alter the original blueprint of the project was based on technical and hydrological factors, as the Maharashtra government had objected to a higher Full Reservoir Level (FRL) for the proposed dam. While most witnesses have blamed the former chief minister for relocating the barrage from Tummidihatti to Medigadda, the BRS asserted that the move was not politically motivated. KCR is scheduled to appear before the commission on June 11.

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Former Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao delivered a PowerPoint presentation at the Telangana Bhavan titled “Kaleshwaram Project: Countering False Propaganda with Facts.” He stated that due to objections from the Maharashtra government, the water storage capacity at the proposed Tummidihatti site was deemed inadequate. According to him, WAPCOS, a Central Government-owned consultancy, recommended shifting the project to Medigadda, where water availability was sufficient. Rao further claimed that KLIS witnessed the lowest cost escalation among similar projects.

Criticizing the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) report, Rao alleged that the preliminary findings were released before the Assembly elections, the interim report before the Lok Sabha elections, and the final report just ahead of the BRS’ silver jubilee celebrations—suggesting a conspiracy to damage the party’s image.

He also pointed out that the current Congress minister, Tummala Nageswara Rao, was a member of the three-member Cabinet subcommittee formed to oversee the redesign of KLIS. Rao displayed earlier remarks made in support of the project by various political leaders, including Congress leader and current minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.

BRS working president KT Rama Rao also accused the Congress government of being “obsessively fixated on minor damages to just two pillars out of the 100 components of the Kaleshwaram project,” and of “deliberately exaggerating the issue while using trivial excuses to stall essential repairs for over a year and a half.” He further alleged that the BJP had fabricated the NSDA report and edited it at their party office.