YSR Congress on Saturday demanded dismissal of irrigation minister Devineni Umamaheswar Rao from the cabinet in the wake of serious charges of corruption leveled against him by a TDP member of parliament.

The party also demanded an inquiry in to the charges and blacklisting of all companies involved in the alleged corrupt practices in Galeru-Nagari works.

‘Rajya Sabha MP CM Ramesh, who is considered a close confident of Chief Minister, has written an open letter detailing the irregularities in irrigation works and misuse of public funds. We demand that the Irrigation Minister Devineni Uma Maheswara Rao be sacked and an inquiry ordered into the deals,’ party spokesperson Tammineni Sitaram said.

The irregularities that were brought to light pertain to Owk Reservoir(Kurnool district) and the estimated cost was revised from Rs 12 crore to Rs 110 crore. Government had released the funds. “This is gross misuse of public money and merits a thorough probe after dismissing the concerned minister,” he said.
Similarly the payment of Rs 44 crore to existing contractors also was in violation of the agreement and the Contractors should be asked to stick to the original contract.
The party alleged that all irrigation contracts had become notorious for kickbacks and corruption during the TDP regime. Naidu should respond to the charges leveled by the his own MP CM Ramesh and other charges of corruption in Galeru- Nagari project, in which Owk forms part, Sitaram demanded.