Top News

Hyderabad: The Telangana Cabinet has yet to decide whether to appeal the Telangana High Court’s verdict on the Justice PC Ghose Commission report into the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP). The petition challenging the verdict was filed by former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), former irrigation minister T Harish Rao, former chief secretary SK Joshi and former secretary to the CM Smita Sabharwal.

The High Court on Wednesday, April 23, ordered that no punitive legal action be taken against those found at fault by the Justice PC Ghose Commission of Inquiry. The Commission was constituted by the state government to investigate irregularities and corruption in the construction of the Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages under the KLIP.

Addressing the media after the state Cabinet meeting held at Dr BR Ambedkar Telangana State Secretariat in Hyderabad on Thursday, April 23, Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy said that in the 102-page judgment, the High Court has only given relief to the petitioners against arrest based on procedural issues and technicalities, and has not struck down the entire report as prayed by them.

“The High Court bench has made it clear that the Commission of Inquiry is neither unconstitutional nor against the law, or even above the law,” Reddy said.

He stated that after deliberating with Advocate General Sudarshan Reddy and the state government’s counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi, a decision to whether to appeal the verdict in the Supreme Court or not will be taken over the next couple of days.

He, however, said that the ministers have decided to meet the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director with all the reports and evidence to further the investigation into the corruption in the Kaleshwaram project.

Modernisation of Gachibowli stadium

During the meeting, the Cabinet has also approved the modernisation and expansion of Gachibowli stadium at a cost of Rs 700 crore through the Tata Group’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds.

Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy told the media that the project would develop infrastructure for 21 types of sports across 64 acres, while expanding the stadium’s seating capacity from 20,000 to 50,000.

In the remaining 12 acre out of the total 76 acre of the stadium’s land, he said that commercial establishments would be developed through open tenders in public private partnership (PPP) model.

Clearing of pending retirement dues

The Cabinet has also decided to look for ways to clear the pending retirement dues of government pensioners within 100 days.

To enable it, Ponguleti said that a revenue resources Cabinet sub-committee headed by Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka has been formed, which will again meet on May 4 to finalise the ways to disburse those outstanding retirement dies, which amounted to Rs 6,000 crore.

He also said that the Cabinet has decided to fill the vacant chairperson’s posts of the Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS) in the state on nomination basis.