Even as the Central Bureau of Investigation is yet to take up a full-fledged probe into the alleged irregularities in the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project, the state government is learnt to have handed over the case to Anti-Corruption Bureau to look into the corruption angle in the case.
According to sources, the Vigilance Department has written to the government seeking an inquiry by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) ACB into financial mismanagement in the project.
Once the state government grants permission, the ACB is expected to launch a full-fledged probe, sources said.
The ACB investigation is based on the recent raids on the houses of several top engineers, including engineer-in-chief and executive engineers who had played crucial roles in the Kaleshwaram project.
The ACB authorities reportedly unearthed huge sums of unaccounted money running into a few hundred crores.
The Vigilance officials believe that if a detailed investigation is taken up, more financial irregularities could be exposed, potentially widening the scope of the scandal.
Meanwhile, there were reports that the CBI, too, has asked for certain important documents related to alleged irregularities in the construction of the Kaleshwaram project, though the Central agency has not yet communicated to the state government about commencement of the probe.
Sources said officials are going through reports submitted by the National Dam Safety Authority, Vigilance and Enforcement and the PC Ghose Commission of Inquiry, along with other key documents connected to the project.
After completing the preliminary scrutiny, the CBI is expected to seek clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs to register an FIR. The agency has also sought several other documents from the state.
On September 1, the state government had requested the Union government to order a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities.
Earlier, the government tabled the 665-page PC Ghose Commission report in the Legislative Assembly. Following a debate, the House adopted a resolution recommending a CBI probe.
Meanwhile, Bharat Rashtra Samithi president and former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and former irrigation minister T Harish Rao, implicated in the report, have approached the Telangana high court seeking to quash the report.
The court directed that no action be taken on the Commission’s findings until the next hearing, which is scheduled for October 7.