Hyderabad: Minister for Irrigation and Civil Supplies, N Uttam Kumar Reddy, has promised to punish those responsible for misusing funds in the Civil Supplies department. In response to former minister T Harish Rao’s request for an investigation, Uttam Kumar stated that the government will hold accountable anyone who caused losses worth crores of rupees and put the government in debt.
Uttam Kumar highlighted the burden of bad debts on the corporation, with an annual interest rate of over Rs 3,000 crore. He mentioned that around 95 lakh metric tonnes of paddy, worth Rs 22,000 crore, owned by the corporation, are with millers without proper security or bank guarantees. Uttam Kumar blamed the previous government for causing significant losses and debts exceeding Rs 56,000 crore in the Civil Supplies Corporation. He also claimed that poor quality rice, costing Rs 39 per kg, was either inedible or diverted for misuse due to the negligence of the previous government.
Despite spending a lot of money on projects, Uttam Kumar stated that the new irrigation land created was minimal. He mentioned that despite investing around Rs one lakh crore in the Kaleshwaram project, only about 1.5 lakh acres of new land was irrigated. Similarly, the Palamuru Rangareddy project spent Rs 25,000 crore without irrigating any land, and the Sitarama Sagar project spent Rs 7,500 crore with no irrigation benefits.
Regarding the Medigadda incident, Uttam Kumar blamed it on criminal negligence and criticized the former chief minister, K Chandrashekar Rao, for not taking appropriate action. He also criticized the poor design and construction of the barrage, noting it as the first instance of a barrage collapsing in independent India.
In summary, Uttam Kumar Reddy assured that those responsible for misusing funds in the Civil Supplies department will be punished. He also highlighted the burden of bad debts on the corporation and criticized the previous government for causing significant losses. Additionally, he mentioned the lack of irrigation benefits in major projects and criticized the poor design and construction of the Medigadda barrage.
