Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy will chair a special Cabinet meeting on Monday to review the state’s worsening drought situation, after deficient monsoon rainfall and sharply reduced tank storage raised concerns over crops, drinking water and power supply.
The meeting will examine agriculture, irrigation, drinking water availability and rising power demand, along with the impact of El Nino on the state’s water position. The review comes as Telangana faces declining storage in major irrigation projects and minor irrigation tanks ahead of the coming months.
Telangana recorded 615.5 mm of rainfall during the southwest monsoon season, against a normal 740.6 mm, according to the report. The season ended on September 30 with a 17 per cent rainfall deficit. Although the India Meteorological Department classified the state’s rainfall within the normal category, 18 of Telangana’s 33 districts received deficient rainfall.
Around 235 mandals have been identified as facing drought-like conditions. The situation has raised concerns over standing crops and rural livelihoods, particularly in areas where farmers depend on irrigation tanks and electricity-powered pump sets.
Tank storage data indicates the scale of the pressure on local water systems. Of the 21,500 minor irrigation tanks monitored across Telangana, 17,677 had less than half their storage capacity as of October 3. As many as 12,944 tanks had either dried up or contained less than a quarter of their normal storage.
The combined storage in the monitored tanks stood at 94.30 tmc ft, against a total capacity of 253.80 tmc ft. The reduced availability is expected to be considered alongside storage levels in major irrigation projects while the Cabinet reviews measures for managing water resources.
Farmers in several districts have also been protesting against frequent and unscheduled interruptions to three-phase power supply. They have alleged that the outages are disrupting irrigation activity and damaging pump-set motors. Power demand is among the issues scheduled for review at the Cabinet meeting.
The Telangana government has already adopted a resolution in the Legislative Assembly seeking the declaration of drought-affected mandals and adequate financial assistance from the Centre. It has sought a special package of Rs 20,000 crore to address the rainfall deficit and support affected farmers.
The Cabinet is expected to examine immediate relief measures, the drought subcommittee’s action plan and suggestions received from an all-party meeting, farmers’ organisations and experts. The review will focus on minimising crop losses and managing the state’s available water and power resources.
