Congress Govt clears Rs 46,962 Cr Kaleshwaram debts

The Congress-led government, under Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, has successfully repaid Rs 46,962 crore towards loans for the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) over the past two years (2024-2025), demonstrating a strong commitment to fiscal responsibility and project sustainability. This significant achievement addresses the mounting debt burden inherited from the previous administration, ensuring the project's viability while prioritizing public welfare.

According to official RTI responses from the Kaleshwaram Irrigation Project Corporation Limited (KIPCL), annual repayments towards bank loans from 2020 onwards are as follows:

2020: Rs 1,487.98 crore, 2021: Rs 3,364.65 crore, 2022: Rs 9,077.01 crore, 2023: Rs 11,873.70 crore, 2024: Rs 13,388.71 crore and 2025: Rs 33,574.11 crore

The repayments in 2024 and 2025 alone total Rs 46,962.82 crore, reflecting accelerated efforts by the current government since assuming power in December 2023. These funds have been directed towards principal and interest obligations to major lenders, including consortia led by Punjab National Bank (PNB), Union Bank of India (UBI), Bank of Baroda, and Power Finance Corporation (PFC).

Additionally, a separate RTI disclosure reveals interest payments made from January 2026 totaling Rs 417.34 crore, distributed as: PNB Consortium (Rs 77.69 crore), UBI Consortium (Rs 51.24 crore), Bank of Baroda (Rs 15.00 crore), and PFC (Rs 273.41 crore). This underscores ongoing debt management.

The government has also pursued debt restructuring of over Rs 26,000 crore and initiated a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in the project's execution, which escalated costs beyond Rs 1 lakh crore. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy emphasized that these steps prevent further financial strain, with plans to complete pending Godavari basin projects within two years despite a state debt of Rs 8.11 lakh crore.