He also raised questions over the cost escalation of the proposed project. Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Saturday alleged that the Congress govt is extending undue favours to a company in the tender process for the Kodangal-Narayanpet-Makthal lift irrigation scheme.
In a social media post, he said that the project, which was originally estimated at around ₹1,450 crore in 2014, has now reached ₹6,825 crore.
Criticising the govt’s priorities, KTR said that while people across Telangana were facing drinking water shortages and relying on tanker supplies, public resources were being diverted through irrigation projects. Taking a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi , he remarked that existing terms such as “crony capitalism,” “open loot,” and “kleptocracy” were insufficient to describe the alleged irregularities taking place in Telangana. He alleged that the cost had increased nearly fivefold despite the project not delivering a single drop of water to beneficiaries so far. He alleged that instead of addressing the immediate needs of citizens, the state govt was focusing on awarding high-value contracts through projects with significantly increased costs. KTR further charged the Congress govt with indulging in large-scale misuse of public funds under the guise of development projects.