A ₹1,450 crore lift irrigation project in southern Telangana has ballooned to ₹6,825 crore — nearly five times its original budget — without drawing a single drop of water, according to BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao, who on Saturday, November 7, 2026 levelled a blistering conflict-of-interest charge against the Revanth Reddy government over the Kodangal-Narayanpet-Makthal Lift Irrigation project.

KTR's charge, posted on X, is blunt: the state government floated tenders for the project, Telangana Congress minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy's own company applied, the other bidders were 'dummy, mere on-paper companies,' and the result was a foregone conclusion — 'sole runner wins the race.' He addressed the post to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, sarcastically asking for a new word to describe the alleged loot, suggesting that 'crony capitalism,' 'daylight robbery,' and 'kleptocracy' were each insufficient on their own.

Five-Fold Cost Surge, Zero Water Delivered

The numbers KTR cites are stark. The project, designed to bring irrigation relief to the drought-prone districts of Kodangal, Narayanpet, and Makthal, was originally budgeted at ₹1,450 crore. The revised figure, according to KTR, now stands at ₹6,825 crore — an escalation of approximately ₹5,375 crore. Despite this, the project has reportedly yielded no water supply to the region.

KTR draws a sharp human contrast: while the project budget has spiralled, residents of Telangana are still lining up at tanker queues for drinking water. The juxtaposition — a multi-thousand-crore irrigation contract with no output, against citizens waiting for a tanker — is the political and moral core of his attack. 'These shameless Congressies are looting Telangana's resources in the name of irrigation projects,' he wrote.

Opposition Pressure on the Congress Government

The Congress party under Chief Minister Revanth Reddy swept to power in Telangana in December 2023, ending a decade of BRS rule. Since then, BRS — now in opposition — has consistently trained its fire on alleged financial irregularities in public works contracts, with irrigation spending a recurring flashpoint. Tender manipulation, cost escalation, and cronyism in large infrastructure projects are accusations that have crossed party lines in Telangana politics, with both regimes facing scrutiny over irrigation expenditure.

The BRS itself oversaw ambitious and controversial irrigation infrastructure during its decade in office, including the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project launched in 2016, which drew significant criticism over cost and execution. That history does not insulate the current government from scrutiny — but it does sharpen the political temperature of every exchange on the subject.

What Makes the Ponguleti Allegation Particularly Combustible

At the heart of KTR's post is a specific conflict-of-interest allegation: a sitting minister's company allegedly winning a government tender floated by that minister's own cabinet. If substantiated, that would not merely be a procurement irregularity — it would represent a direct violation of public office ethics norms. KTR has stopped short of filing a formal complaint in this post, but his public framing — tagging Rahul Gandhi and invoking 'kleptocracy' — is designed to escalate the political cost of silence.

Accountability mechanisms that could test these claims include an official tender evaluation report, a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit, or a vigilance inquiry. Whether any of those are triggered may determine whether this remains political rhetoric or becomes a formal investigation.

Southern Telangana's farmers are still waiting for water. The contract books tell one story; the tanker queues tell another. The gap between those two narratives is now squarely in the political arena.