UNDER FIRE:Major Irrigation Minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah seen at Gandhi Bhavan where he came to attend a meeting on Sunday.
HYDERABAD: Alleging large-scale ‘irregularities' in the irrigation projects in Telangana, senior Congress leaders from the region on Sunday demanded Major Irrigation Minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah to resign owning moral responsibility.
Accusing the government of neglecting the projects, the seniors at a meeting at the residence of former Minister Palvai Goverdhan Reddy said the Minister and Special Chief Secretary in the Chief Minister's Office C.V.S.K. Sarma owed an explanation.
The meeting attended by MPs -- Gutta Sukhender Reddy, P. Balram Naik and Manda Jagannath -- former PCC chief P. Narsa Reddy and MLCs -- K. Yadava Reddy, S. Indrasain Reddy and Jagadeeshwar Reddy -- and former MLC B. Kamalakar Rao lamented that there was ‘discrimination' in the budget allocation for the projects.
Design faulted
Faulting the Polavaram project design, they reiterated the demand to change the plan and instead of constructing an earthen dam, wanted barrages to be built across the Godavari. They decided to meet several Central leaders including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to pursue the matter.
Mr. Goverdhan Reddy later told presspersons that Mr. Lakshmaiah should be ‘solely held responsible' for the status of the projects. He demanded changes in the Polavaram project to prevent submergence of 365 villages. The project would submerge the temple town of Bhadrachalam.
Nexus alleged
Nalgonda MP Sukhender Reddy alleged that ‘nexus' between contractors and officials ensured in escalated estimates of the projects to ‘defraud' the government. He charged that the contractors, owing allegiance to the Congress and other parties, had ‘looted' the government.
Charges refuted
Reacting to the demand for his resignation, Mr. Lakshmaiah told reporters that the allegations were ‘false'. “When there is no truth in the charges, where is the question of my resignation,” he quipped when approached by media at Gandhi Bhavan on Sunday.
He said the government was ‘transparent' in implementing the projects and that there was no truth the projects were kept on the backburner. He agreed to put all facts pertaining to the Polavaram project before the leaders to clarify their doubts
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