Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao questioned the ‘double standard’ of former Minister T. Harish Rao on irrigation projects in the erstwhile Palamuru region.
He questioned whether the same leaders who had once issued government orders (GOs) for projects like the Gollapalli reservoir were now attempting to stall them for political gain.
Addressing the media at the CLP office, he alleged that the previous BRS government had approved the construction of reservoirs with a capacity of 25 TMC at an estimated cost of ₹4,177 crore in 2016. He pointed out that in March 2019, as many as 27 reservoirs, including Gollapalli, were proposed, and termed the current opposition to the same projects as a betrayal of Palamuru’s people.
Refuting claims made by Mr. Harish Rao that the Palamuru-Rangareddy project was 80% complete during BRS regime, Mr. Jupally said the figures were misleading. “How can 80% of the work be completed when only ₹25,000 crore has been spent out of an estimated ₹80,000 crore?” he asked. He alleged that pumps were switched on hastily before elections to mislead the public, without providing irrigation to even a single acre.
Mr. Jupally claimed that the BRS government spent only ₹7,000 crore on Palamuru projects over the past decade, whereas previous Congress governments had spent ₹8,300 crore in the undivided State. He also accused Mr. Harish Rao of forcibly acquiring land from farmers for the Mallannasagar project and now shed crocodile tears.
