Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s claim of Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project debt having been “cleared” was hotly contested by his former Cabinet colleague and now TS BJP’s election management committee chairman Eatala Rajender as “blatant lie” on Tuesday.
“Does KCR think Telangana people are fools to believe whatever he says? The more than ₹1 lakh crore project has been built with a 20-year loan and it will take next few generations to repay. Even if 155 tmc ft water has been lifted, it could have led to ₹600 crore revenue from agriculture, that’s all,” he maintained at a press conference at the party office.
The Huzurabad MLA claimed that the rise in the groundwater across TS was because of the copious rains received in the last few years due to the Almighty and “Kaleshwaram project had no role at all”. “Many an expert has pointed out that whether the power is utilised or not for the project, a fixed charge of ₹3,500 crore has to be paid. The project cost is much more than the agriculture benefit it derives, hence totally unviable,” he said.
Mr. Rajender said the KCR regime had been ‘cheating’ the farmers withdrawing subsidy for taking up drip irrigation, green houses or to purchase farm implements limiting the government help to ‘Rythu Bima’ where 35% of tenant farmers were not eligible. “If farmers get the right price for their produce there will be no need for any kind of Rythu Bima,” he said.
The former Minister accused the Chief Minister of going back on his assurances made on the floor of the Assembly with regard to problems of the guest lecturers and demanded that their services be regularised immediately.
“Lecturers are not getting salaries for the last six months. How does the government expect them to live? When they were protesting, the police arrested them. I demand their release unconditionally and steps to be taken to fix minimum scale to the 15,794 teachers working in degree and Intermediate colleges as well as social welfare and model schools,” he said.
The BJP leader said the government had the dubious record of crushing employees taking the agitation path to highlight their problems like it had happened to sanitary workers, TSRTC staff, VRAs and others. “People are fed up as their hope of a humane Telangana has been dashed. They will definetely teach a lesson to KCR and company,” he added.
