Hyderabad: Telangana irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy called for a unified national framework under which every water-conservation work would form part of a single water-security plan, carry a unique identity, have a clearly designated responsible agency and deliver a measurable outcome.Addressing the Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari– the first-ever departmental summit organised by the Ministry of Jal Shakti at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan in New Delhi on Wednesday, he said water security should not be treated merely as an engineering responsibility or departmental programme, but as a public mission crucial to drinking water, agricultural stability, rural livelihoods, urban resilience and environmental protection.Uttam Kumar Reddy said rainwater conservation must become a people’s movement, with suitable recharge facilities for households, conservation structures for agricultural fields and dependable community water bodies for villages. Each intervention, however, must be scientifically designed according to local geology, aquifers, runoff patterns and actual water requirements.He pointed out that water-conservation works were presently funded through several programmes, including MGNREGS, PMKSY, Finance Commission grants, CAMPA, watershed initiatives, state schemes, local bodies and CSR. Without effective convergence, this could lead to fragmented planning, unsuitable site selection, duplication, repeated reporting and poor maintenance, he said.The minister proposed geo-tagging and assigning a unique identity to every asset, linking it to its funding source and placing it under a clearly named custodian. Performance, he said, should be judged by storage restored, groundwater recharge achieved, improvement in water levels, functionality of assets and year-round water availability—not merely by the number of structures built.Highlighting Telangana’s achievements, Uttam Kumar Reddy said the state was recognised as the best-performing State under Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari in 2025, while 13 Telangana districts figured among India’s top 50 districts in water conservation.Telangana has 44,360 water bodies and tanks, of which works have been taken up in 28,739 and restoration completed in 22,428. Its 74 major and medium irrigation projects have created irrigation potential for 74.51 lakh acres, while another 53.18 lakh acres remain to be realised.The State’s three-year plan for 2026–29 seeks to create or stabilise irrigation facilities across 17.28 lakh acres, involving an outlay of Rs 46,110.35 crore. Of the 4.43 lakh acres required for irrigation projects, 3.95 lakh acres have been acquired. He stressed the need to address the remaining land requirements and rehabilitate 60,531 project-displaced families fairly and expeditiously.Expressing concern over reservoir sedimentation, Uttam said Telangana’s 159 major and medium reservoirs had a combined capacity of around 929 TMC. Studies covering 18 projects with an assessed capacity of 222.90 TMC found that 40.97 TMC, or approximately 22.95 per cent, had been lost to sedimentation.Telangana had consequently initiated revenue-based pilot desiltation programmes in the Lower Manair, Mid Manair and Kadem reservoirs, targeting restoration of 3.74 TMC of storage through the removal of about 9.51 lakh metric tonnes of sediment. Based on the results, similar works could be considered in SRSP, Nizamsagar, Jurala, Nagarjunasagar, Musi and Pocharam.Uttam Kumar Reddy requested the Centre to provide assistance to eligible ongoing projects under PMKSY, relax inclusion conditions where appropriate, permit suitable flexibility under FRBM norms and facilitate access to Infrastructure Development Fund loans.Ends
