Minister for Irrigation T. Harish Rao charged the Congress party with leaving no stone unturned to obstruct the progress of irrigation projects in the State, particularly Kaleshwaram. He alleged that the Opposition party is trying to gain publicity by resorting to cheap tactics of creating problems at public hearings, where everyone has the right give their opinion.
Stating that the speed with which the works of irrigation projects were progressing was unsettling the Congress party, the Minister said the Congress party leaders were worried about their political future and that was why they were trying to create problems. The Congress party had filed at least 30 cases on Kaleshwaram project itself, in addition to cases against Palamuru-Rangareddy and Dindi projects, Mr. Harish Rao said in a statement issued here on Thursday.
Stage-managed protest
Giving the details about Congress party’s attempts to stall the progress of Kaleshwaram, the Minister noted that the party had stage managed protests in villages against Mallannasagar, a key component of the project, with the help of its activists who were moved there from other places. However, it was blind to the fact that the farmers had signed the agreements for parting with their land under the very tents erected by Congress party for staging protests.
The Minister said the Congress acts to stall the progress of Kaleshwaram and other projects had, in deed, slowed down the works due to delay in land acquisition. The Opposition party then moved the High Court with the cases filed in the name of deceased and those who left the villages long ago for livelihood elsewhere. Unable to get stay orders in the High Court, they had approached the National Green Tribunal alleging that the State Government was carrying out project work without environmental and forest clearances.
Mr. Harish Rao sought to know from the Congress party leaders how work had been taken up on the 80 projects under Jalayagnam of their government in the past. The government had taken up public hearing in 15 districts and made arrangements for people to express their views freely.
Further, he questioned the Congress leaders how they had failed to reach at even agreement with Maharashtra on Pranahita-Chevella having design deficiencies and inter-state disputes even when they were in power at the Centre and in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.