The Telangana government is stepping up water conservation and drinking water supply measures across rural areas, with officials instructed to strengthen local water reserves and prevent shortages amid concerns over rising temperatures and declining rainfall linked by the state to the El Niño effect. Panchayat Raj, rural development and rural water supply minister D Anasuya Seethakka announced the measures during a visit to Mulugu district.
The programme will include percolation pits, recharge ponds, small catchments, check dams, restoration of village tanks and borewell recharge works under the VB-G Ram G scheme. Seethakka urged sarpanches and villagers to participate in the works, saying stronger local storage and groundwater recharge would be necessary before the onset of severe scarcity.
The minister said drinking water supply had been given priority and that the government was taking proactive steps to prevent shortages. She also appealed to residents to avoid wastage and said drinking water requirements must be considered alongside irrigation needs. According to Seethakka, officials are monitoring water supply systems, village tanks and groundwater levels across the state.
During the visit, Seethakka said Ramappa lake in Mulugu district had 29 feet of water. The government is examining the possibility of pumping water from the Godavari river to improve water availability in the lake and nearby areas. Officials were instructed to release water within two days as part of efforts to increase storage levels, according to the minister.
A related defluoridation project is expected to treat water from the Ramappa source before it is supplied to Mulugu, Venkatapuram, Govindaraopet, Mallampalli and surrounding areas. Parts of Jayashankar Bhupalpally district are also expected to receive water from the system. The project links water availability with treatment capacity, making the quality of the source as important as the quantity stored in the lake.
Seethakka said the chief minister and deputy chief minister had led regular reviews with officials over the previous six months to implement conservation measures and prevent drinking water shortages. She said the government would continue monitoring supplies and exploring alternative sources, including the proposed Ramappa–Laknavaram canal.
The announcement places village-level assets at the centre of Telangana’s immediate water management response. Tanks, check dams, recharge structures and borewells are being treated not as separate projects but as parts of a wider effort to retain water, replenish groundwater and maintain drinking water supplies. The practical outcome will depend on the completion of these works, the release and treatment of water, and continued monitoring by local authorities.
The government’s next steps include releasing water for Ramappa lake, advancing the defluoridation project and continuing conservation works under the VB-G Ram G scheme. Officials are also expected to assess water supply systems, groundwater levels and village storage as conditions develop.
