The Telangana government has ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project, a move that has triggered a political storm in the state. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy announced the decision in the state Assembly following a lengthy debate on the P.C. Ghose Commission report, which investigated alleged irregularities in the project's construction during the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) regime.
The Ghose Commission, led by former Supreme Court Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose, submitted its report on July 31, 2025, and it was approved by the state cabinet on August 4, 2025. The report highlighted several irregularities, including negligence, suppression of facts, and financial mismanagement in the project's construction. It also blamed the then Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) for the issues. The commission stated that the decision to construct barrages at Medigadda, Annaram, and Sundilla was KCR's "sole and individual decision" along with then irrigation minister T Harish Rao.
Chief Minister Revanth Reddy stated that the decision to hand over the case to the CBI was due to the involvement of inter-state entities, central government departments, and agencies in the project. He noted that Central Public Sector Undertakings like WAPCOS and financial institutions such as PFC and REC were involved in the project's design, construction, and financing. The CBI probe will require Telangana to revoke the general consent that the previous BRS government had withdrawn three years ago.
The Kaleshwaram project, completed in 2019, is the world's largest multi-stage lift irrigation project, spanning approximately 500 km across 13 districts with a canal network of 1,800 km. However, it has been plagued by issues, including the sinking of a pillar at the Medigadda Barrage in October 2023, which led to flooding. The National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) found a "lack of proper geo-technical investigations, design deficiencies, construction defects, failure of modelling studies, structural distress, absence of robust quality control, operation and maintenance failures, [and that] dam safety aspects [had been] ignored".
The BRS has strongly criticized the government's decision, terming the Ghose Commission report as "trash" and alleging a nexus between the Congress and the BJP. BRS working president KT Rama Rao accused the Congress of conspiring with the BJP to permanently close down Telangana's lifeline project. Former Minister T Harish Rao has defended the project, arguing that the government's actions are contradictory as they call the project a failure while simultaneously issuing tenders linked to it. He also stated that the NDSA had clarified that restoration of Block VII of Medigadda barrage would be taken up after receiving results of investigations and expert committee opinions, and the barrage would continue to remain operational.
Adding another layer to the controversy, KCR's daughter and BRS MLC, K. Kavitha, has publicly blamed Harish Rao and the party's general secretary, Santhosh Rao, for the allegations against her father. She accused them of misdeeds and accumulating huge assets, leading to KCR being "framed" in the inquiry. She said, “A CBI inquiry has been launched against my father… it burns my heart... This happened only because of some people around him. All this is because of Harish Rao".
The Congress government has alleged that the previous BRS regime spent over Rs 1 lakh crore on the Kaleshwaram project, which they claim has collapsed. Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy termed it as India's man-made financial disaster. He said that the project's cost was escalated for the sake of commissions. CM Revanth Reddy accused KCR and Harish Rao of changing the location of the project and misappropriating funds.
