Is There a Corruption Scandal in Telangana's Irrigation Department?

Hyderabad, July 16 (NationPress) - A court here has placed C. Muralidhar Rao, the former Engineer-in-Chief of Telangana's Irrigation Department, into judicial custody for a duration of 14 days over allegations of disproportionate assets. The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) apprehended Rao on Tuesday and subsequently presented him before the ACB court.

After considering arguments from both parties, the magistrate ordered his transfer to judicial custody, and he was later relocated to Chanchalguda Central Jail.

The ACB has initiated a Disproportionate Assets (DA) case against Rao, conducting extensive searches at his residence as well as 11 other locations associated with him and his relatives.

Authorities uncovered numerous movable and immovable assets, including a villa, four flats, four open plots, a commercial structure, and 6500 square yards of open land in prime areas of Hyderabad and its vicinity.

The discovered properties also encompass 11 acres of agricultural land, a Solar Power Project (2 KV) located in Zaheerabad, a commercial building in Karimnagar, an apartment in Kodad, and a building currently under construction in Warangal, in addition to three vehicles. There were also findings of gold ornaments and bank deposits.

The ACB is pursuing further investigations into the matter.

Rao's arrest followed the execution of searches across 11 locations in Hyderabad, Karimnagar, and Zaheerabad.

These raids targeted the properties of Rao, his family members, and relatives.

Having served as Engineer-in-Chief for a decade during the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) governance, Rao was compelled to resign in February 2024 due to the Vigilance Department's probe concerning the collapse of piers at the Medigadda barrage, part of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project.

Though Rao retired in 2013 in the undivided Andhra Pradesh, he received multiple extensions. His arrest by the ACB coincides with ongoing inquiries into alleged irregularities surrounding the Kaleshwaram project.

This incident is part of a broader initiative targeting corruption within the Irrigation Department, particularly against officers implicated in the Kaleshwaram project.

Earlier in April, the ACB arrested Bhookya Hari Ram, another former Engineer-in-Chief linked to the Kaleshwaram project, for possessing assets that significantly exceeded his known income sources.

The ACB's operations were reportedly informed by the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) report, which highlighted severe deficiencies in the design, construction, and maintenance of the Kaleshwaram project.

Hari Ram is alleged to have played a pivotal role in the project's construction and execution.

In the previous month, the ACB detained Nune Sridhar, an Irrigation Executive Engineer (EE), accused of amassing extensive properties linked to the multi-crore Kaleshwaram project, where he was involved with three project packages.