Harish Rao demands white paper on Congress govt’s Rs 6,200 crore hydel power project in Himachal Pradesh

Former Minister and senior BRS leader T Harish Rao raised serious concerns over the state government’s decision to construct a 510 MW hydel power project in Himachal Pradesh through TG Genco, calling it a Tughlaq-style blunder

Hyderabad: Former Minister and senior BRS leader T Harish Rao raised serious concerns over the state government’s decision to construct a 510 MW hydel power project in Himachal Pradesh through TG Genco, calling it a Tughlaq-style blunder. He suspected large-scale corruption in the project and demanded that the government release a white paper on the Rs 6,200 crore project.

“While Revanth Reddy keeps claiming the state is bankrupt, how will he justify an MoU with the Himachal Pradesh government without even preparing a Detailed Project Report?” he questioned. He revealed that Rs 26 crore has already been paid as an upfront premium, with another Rs 26 crore to follow, despite the lack of feasibility studies or board approval.

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Harish Rao wanted the Congress government to explain why it was pursuing a project abandoned by private giants like Moserbaer and public sector major NTPC. “Moserbaer signed to take up the project in 2009 but backed out after finding it unviable. Even the Himachal High Court ordered the state to return Moserbaer’s Rs 64 crore investment with interest after the company exited. NTPC too backed out in 2022, citing heavy snowfall and technical hurdles,” he pointed out.

The former minister demanded that Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka release a white paper explaining the rationale and financial logic behind taking up a long-defunct project estimated to cost Rs 6,200 crore. “Why is TG Genco taking up a project that no one touched in 20 years?” he asked.

Harish Rao went on to hit out at the Congress government for investing in unviable projects of other states while claiming to have no funds for promises made to the people of Telangana. “They claim there is no money for farm loan waivers, Rythu Bandhu, pensions, student fee reimbursement, or the Mahalaxmi scheme. Then where is the Rs 6,200 crore coming from?” he questioned.

Calling it a “Congress-to-Congress deal,” he demanded answers from the Congress leadership in Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, and Delhi. “People deserve to know who benefits from this misadventure,” he said, vowing to expose the alleged scam with evidence soon.