Hours after irrigation minister Deveneni Umamaheswar Rao announced that state had earmarked Rs 10,000 crore for Irrigation projects this year, YSR Congress demanded that a white paper be published on the status of all projects, the amount spent and the names of contractors ,who had been awarded the works.
The party alleged that irrigation contracts were being awarded to the favored few with inflated estimates. The estimates of all projects had been revised freely to benefit the companies owned by the party leaders or their relatives, the party said.
According to party spokesperson Vasireddy Padma, the estimate of Handri-Neeva was increased from RS 194 crore to Rs 558 crore while the Rs 12 crore Galeru Nagari project, of which 90 % of the work was completed has been increased to Rs 110 crore, and the contract was bagged by the company owned by TDP union minister. The same method had been followed for Pattiseema. The TDP, however, is not interested to make any effort to pursue the Centre-sponsored Polavaram project, she said.
“The projects are being awarded to companies owned by Party leaders though the process is routed through an official committee, which only a nominal one. Recently, a member of the committee had given a dissent note on the way proceedings were being taken place in connection with Kuppam Branch canal construction. This shows the level of nepotism and corruption in the irrigation contracts,” she said.
It is not just the case of Kuppam branch canal, she said, in the case of every project from Handri-Neva, Galeru-Nagari and Pattiseema- the estimates had been inflated and given to favored contractors.
We demand a white paper to know the status of projects when TDP took over, the progress during the 18 months, tenders called for and to whom the contracts were awarded to, she said.
