Hyderabad: Telangana govt will take up a six-month statewide programme involving every village in the restoration, rejuvenation and conservation of water resources, irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy said. The govt is also planning to generate large-scale rural employment while addressing the impact of El Nino conditions, he said.Addressing a high-level review meeting at the state secretariat on Thursday, the minister said panchayat raj and rural development departments would jointly prepare a comprehensive action plan for implementation from Jan to June 2027, ahead of the next monsoon. The programme would seek to mobilise villagers, particularly agricultural labourers.Emphasising the need for such an initiative, he said the current El Nino conditions should be converted into an opportunity to create durable water assets, strengthen existing irrigation infrastructure and improve groundwater availability.Uttam Kumar Reddy said a comprehensive list of 355 categories of works had already been prepared, covering all possible activities that could be undertaken during the five-to-six-month period. He said the departments concerned should develop the programme with a clearly identifiable objective, adequate financial support and effective implementation at the village level.“The programme will largely leverage the employment guarantee framework, with the existing 60:40 funding arrangement being supplemented by additional state assistance wherever necessary. The state govt would provide whatever additional funds are required for the initiative,” the minister said.‘Priority for restoration of tanks and traditional water bodies’Uttam said restoration and regeneration of existing water sources would be the major focus of the programme. The proposed activities include desilting and rejuvenation of minor irrigation tanks, village ponds, feeder channels and irrigation canals, besides restoration of traditional water-harvesting structures. “The exercise will also cover the restoration of damaged sluice gates, removal of accumulated silt, clearance of vegetation and jungle growth, repairs to tank infrastructure and improvement of water-storage capacity,” he said.The creation of field channels through convergence between the irrigation and rural development departments could substantially improve the utilisation of existing irrigation infrastructure and enhance agricultural productivity. The construction of check dams across smaller rivers, streams and local watercourses was also discussed as an important intervention to arrest runoff, facilitate groundwater recharge and improve local water availability, he said.The minister also directed officials to study successful groundwater-recharge initiatives undertaken by Rajasthan and Maharashtra and identify practices that could be replicated in Telangana. A meeting involving district-level groundwater officials would be convened soon to review the situation, ongoing interventions and future requirements.
