The Telangana High Court has directed the state government to file a detailed account of measures being taken to ensure drinking water reaches citizens amid a reported drought, making water availability—not the source from which it is pumped—the immediate test of the state’s response.
A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice P Sam Koshy and Justice Suddala Chalapathi Rao issued the direction while hearing a public interest litigation seeking measures to mitigate the impact of El Niño-induced drought conditions across Telangana. The court said its concern was whether adequate water was being made available to citizens, rather than how the government lifted or pumped it.
The bench observed that the prevailing situation was not man-made and that the government could not be blamed for its effects. It nevertheless directed the state to submit a detailed affidavit outlining the steps taken to maintain drinking water supply and the measures initiated to deal with the ongoing conditions. The matter was adjourned to December 9.
The petition was filed by political leader Cheruku Sudhakar and social worker K Shravan Kumar. Appearing for the petitioners, counsel Chikkudu Prabhakar told the court that Telangana was facing a severe drought, with Hyderabad and particularly the western parts of the city, including the IT corridor, experiencing serious water stress. He alleged that the state had not taken adequate steps to address the situation.
According to the petitioners, Telangana received 630.1 mm of rainfall between June 1 and October 31, 2026, against a normal 833.1 mm, representing a 24% deficit. They said 365 of the state’s 621 mandals had been declared drought-affected, while the remaining 254 mandals were also facing similar conditions.
The petitioners further submitted that Telangana requires around 409 thousand million cubic feet of drinking water, while only about 200 tmc is currently available. They alleged that water scarcity had forced the closure of hundreds of hostels and said the situation could continue for several months. The bench responded that hostel closures themselves indicated that steps were being taken to address the shortage, in a lighter observation during the hearing.
The petitioners also raised drinking water concerns at Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies in Basara, where some students were allegedly hospitalised. They attributed the wider crisis to the El Niño effect and prolonged deficient rainfall, and alleged that delays in repairing the Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages of the Kaleshwaram project had aggravated scarcity. These claims were made by the petitioners during the hearing and were not independently established in the report.
The plea seeks a time-bound scientific assessment of drought conditions in every district, public disclosure of disaster management and contingency plans, immediate provision of safe drinking water and essential commodities under the Disaster Management Act, and the appointment of special officers to monitor relief operations. The state government’s detailed affidavit is expected to set out its response before the next hearing on December 9.
