Chief minister A Revanth Reddy said that during the depositions before the commission of inquiry on the Kaleshwaram project, the blame would go all the way up the hierarchy—from assistant engineers (AEs) to deputy engineers (DEs), executive engineers (EEs), superintendents, chief engineers (CEs), the engineer-in-chief (ENC), the irrigation minister, and ultimately the chief minister.He said that everyone would claim the instructions came from the high command.

Addressing the newly-appointed assistant executive engineers (AEEs) at the Jala Soudha on Thursday, September 26, the chief minister said that if action is taken against Kaleshwaram irrigation officers involved in the alleged scam, half the department would be vacant.“Nobody is able to understand on whom the action needs to be taken. Such is the situation,” he exclaimed.

He urged the newly-appointed engineers whether they should take inspiration from Bharat Ratna Mokshagundam Vishweshwaraiah, responsible for projects such as Osmansagar and Himayatsagar, which were still the drinking water source for Hyderabad or from engineers who built the Kaleshwaram project at a cost of Rs 1 lakh crore.

“There was a time when the engineers working at the grass-root level refused wrong instructions from their superiors,” he recalled.