Telangana officials have been directed to prepare eight-month village-level action plans for drinking water, electricity, irrigation, groundwater and crop choices as the state anticipates a stronger impact from a super El Niño, Special Chief Secretary Benhur Mahesh Datt Ekka said during a review meeting with district officials from the erstwhile Karimnagar district.
Ekka said drinking water must receive the highest priority in the coming months and instructed officials to assess requirements in each village before water stress intensifies. The plans are also expected to record irrigation water availability, groundwater conditions, electricity consumption, alternative crops and water conservation measures.
The direction comes against a backdrop of low water availability in the Godavari and Krishna rivers. According to Ekka, there was little scope for additional inflows into the two river systems, making it necessary for authorities to use the available water judiciously.
The special chief secretary also asked officials to educate farmers against paddy cultivation during the Rabi season in areas where water availability is limited. Farmers in such locations should instead be encouraged to consider maize, pulses, oilseeds and vegetables, he said.
Groundwater pressure was another concern raised at the meeting. Ekka said groundwater levels were declining rapidly and that five to six lakh of Telangana’s 30 lakh agricultural borewells were already defunct. The figures underline the dependence of farming areas on groundwater and the need for district administrations to include borewell conditions in their local plans.
The proposed village-level plans are intended to bring together several departments rather than treat drinking water, irrigation, agriculture and electricity as separate issues. They will have to estimate household water requirements, identify available irrigation supplies, assess groundwater conditions and plan for the electricity demand associated with the coming months.
Ekka said electricity demand was expected to rise and called for precautionary measures to ensure adequate supply. The instruction links seasonal water management with power planning, as irrigation and borewell operations can increase demand when surface-water availability is constrained.
The review meeting was attended by Karimnagar Collector Chitra Mishra, Jagtial Collector B. Stayaprasad, Peddapalli Collector Koya Sreeharsha and Rajanna-Sircilla Collector Garima Agarwal, along with officials from various departments.
The immediate administrative task is to prepare the micro action plans for the next eight months and use them to coordinate drinking-water supply, irrigation allocation, groundwater monitoring, crop advisories, conservation work and electricity preparedness at the village level.
