Telangana Finance Minister T. Harish Rao on Wednesday said that Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat uttered “blatant lies” on Kaleshwaram irrigation project.

He found fault with the Central minister for saying one thing in the Parliament and a totally different thing outside for political mileage.

Harish Rao slammed Shekhawat for the remarks made by him over the project while addressing a public meeting at Yadadri on Tuesday.

Citing Shekhawat’s statement in the Parliament that there was no corruption in Kaleshwaram, he said: “It’s now ridiculous for him to say that the project was constructed without any approval and that there was corruption in it.”

The Central minister on Tuesday alleged that Telangana government headed by K. Chandrasekhar Rao built Kaleshwaram project y across Godavari river with a wrong design.

He blamed the wrong design and poor engineering for submergence of three pump houses of the project in the recent floods.

He also claimed that the project was constructed without investment and environmental clearance.

The Union Minister alleged that Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao built Kaleshwaram as a “money-making machine”.

Shekhawat was addressing a public meeting organised by the BJP at Yadadri to launch the third phase of ‘Praja Sangram Yatra’ of party’s state unit chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar.

Harish Rao said the Centre had given clearances to Kaleshwaram in January 2022. The state minister pointed out that the project is aimed at irrigating 18 lakh acres of land and strengthening irrigation for 19.5 lakh acres.

“Only five months ago Shekhawat had told the Parliament that there was no corruption in the project but now he has uttered blatant lies,” he said.

Harish Rao pointed out that the Central Water Commission gave all clearances for the project. The environmental clearance for Kaleshwaram was on December 22, 2017. The Forest Department gave its approval on November 24, 2017.