Uttam blames previous govt. failure on irrigation, El Nino for ryots’ plight now
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The short discussion on the effects of El Nino and remedial measures taken up in the Assembly on Friday was centred more on irrigation, Kaleshwaram project barrages and Tummidihatti barrage.
Initiating the discussion, Minister for Irrigation N. Uttam Kumar Reddy assured farmers that the State government would stand by them through the water crisis, stating that El Nino had compounded the consequences of a decade of irrigation failures under the previous BRS government. Safeguarding drinking water, protecting standing crops and securing Telangana’s rightful share in river waters were the government priorities.
He argued that the crisis reflected both adverse weather and the legacy of unfinished projects, defective construction and poor water management by the previous dispensation. “Even if we cannot prevent El Nino, the government is prepared in advance to reduce its impact,” he said.
The Agriculture and Irrigation Departments had been alerting farmers following warnings from international weather agencies by informing the possibility of deficient rainfall, irrigation availability and suitable/alternative crop choices.
He explained that the south-west monsoon took nearly 15 days to cover all 33 districts, while rainfall remained uneven and erratic. Encouraging cultivation without adequate water release for irrigation and withdrawing it when crops reached a critical stage would be irresponsible, he noted.
Highlighting the decline in usable reservoir storage, the Minister said Srisailam had only 61.65 tmc ft water as on September 17 against 153.56 tmc ft held last year. Similarly, usable water in Nagarjunasagar was only 44.89 tmc ft against 174.25 tmc ft held last year.
In the Godavari Basin, usable storage in Singur was just 3.48 tmc ft against 16.69 tmc ft available on the same day last year, while Lower Manair Dam’s usable water was 8.95 tmc ft against 21.39 tmc ft on September 17 last year. The total usable water in the reservoirs in both the basins was 241 tmc ft this year against 585 tmc ft last year.
On Krishna water use by Telangana, Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy it was highest at 286.3 tmc ft in 2024-25 and in case of Godavari water it was 340.93 tmc ft in 2025-26. Of the State’s 44,034 tanks, about 40% of them had less than one-quarter full and only 18% tanks have storage between 75% and 100% of their capacity.
The Minister blamed the previous government for the Kaleshwaram project barrages’ failure and reducing them unusable for water diversion. Designs for the rehabilitation of the barrages were expected to be ready by mid-November, he stated.
On Tummidihatti, he asked the BJP leaders to press the Centre to take forward the barrage proposal with 152 meter full reservoir level by convincing the party (BJP) governments in Maharashtra and at the Centre. Abandoning Pranahita–Chevella was a historic blunder committed by the previous BRS government, he alleged.
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