PNS|Hyderabad
In a setback to former minister Nagam Janardhan Reddy, the Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed his petition seeking a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme.
The Bench comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma said that it saw no reason to intervene in the Telangana High Court’s orders dismissing similar pleas.
Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for Nagam, argued that a massive fraud had occurred in the execution of the project, causing a loss of Rs 2,426 crore to the state exchequer.
He contended that the government had originally approved a payment structure of 65 per cent to BHEL for pumps and motors and 35 per cent to Megha Engineering for civil works. However, Bhushan said, an internal arrangement reversed this structure, with BHEL’s share reduced to 20 per cent and Megha’s increased to 80 per cent.
“How was the payment ratio altered from 65:35 to 20:80? This clearly points to a scam,” Bhushan argued, alleging deep-rooted corruption in the project implementation.
Appearing for Megha Engineering, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi countered the claims, pointing out that the Telangana High Court had already dismissed five petitions containing similar allegations. He added that the Central Vigilance Commission had found nothing wrong and that BHEL itself had not raised any complaint.
The Supreme Court, while refusing to entertain the petition, upheld the High Court’s view and made it clear that there was no ground to call for a fresh probe.
