Telangana drought assessment finds 320 mandals affected; state to seek Centre’s aid
Hyderabad: The Telangana government has begun a detailed assessment of drought conditions reported in 320 mandals spread across 18 districts, following a 17% shortfall in southwest monsoon rainfall, officials said on Tuesday, October 6.
Telangana has 621 mandals in 33 districts. Preliminary assessments have pointed to severe water stress in nearly half of them, with officials attributing the situation to the impact of El Niño. Earlier, drought-like conditions had been reported in about 235 mandals.
Chief Secretary Sanjay Jaju directed officials to compile a comprehensive report on the state’s drought situation during a review meeting of the State Disaster Management Department at the Dr BR Ambedkar Telangana State Secretariat.
He asked officials from the Planning, Revenue, Groundwater, Agriculture, Panchayat Raj and Rural Water Supply departments to share detailed data for the assessment. The identification of drought-hit mandals will be based on 12 prescribed parameters, including rainfall received during the southwest monsoon between June and September.
Jaju instructed officials to follow government norms while declaring mandals drought-affected and complete the process by the end of October. He also directed them to prepare a separate report for an all-party meeting proposed by the state government to discuss the impact of El Niño and formulate a response.
Principal Secretary (Finance) Sandeep Kumar Sultania, Principal Secretary (Disaster Management) Rahul Bojja, and Secretaries Dasari Harichandana and Gaurav Uppal attended the meeting.
The Telangana Cabinet decided last week to hold an all-party meeting and seek the views of political parties before finalising measures to address the situation.
A Cabinet sub-committee has been tasked with evaluating the drought conditions and submitting its findings. The Cabinet has also approved a visit by a delegation of ministers to Delhi to meet Union ministers and present the state’s assessment.
The state government plans to request the Centre to officially declare the affected mandals drought-hit and provide financial support for relief and mitigation measures.
(Inputs from IANS)