The Telangana government has ordered coordination committees in all rural mandals to reduce the impact of El Niño on rainfall, water supply, agriculture, livestock and rural livelihoods, The Hindu reported.
The Panchayat Raj and Rural Development department issued the government order on Wednesday under the VB-G RAM G Act.
Who sits on the committees
Each committee will be chaired by the mandal parishad development officer (MPDO), with assistant executive engineers from Panchayat Raj, irrigation and rural water supply, the mandal agriculture officer, the veterinary officer and the horticulture officer as members. The mandal panchayat officer will be the convenor.
The committees will meet every week, review progress village by village, and send a weekly report to the district collector. Hyderabad and Medchal-Malkajgiri districts are excluded.
What they will do
- Plan and monitor works that provide wage employment, and make sure wages are paid on time.
- Identify 35,959 minor irrigation tanks for growing fodder through self-help groups, village organisations and farmers with borewells.
- Build and repair cattle troughs, and secure drinking water with the rural water supply department.
- Carry out water conservation works: tank and feeder channel repairs, farm ponds, soak pits, borewell recharge, rooftop rainwater harvesting and check dams.
- Run awareness campaigns on saving water.
Why it matters
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy warned last week that Telangana could face a drinking water and power crisis until July 2027 because of El Niño, The Hindu reported. He said the State's reservoirs held less than 200 tmc ft of water, and that 15 lakh of its 30 lakh pump sets had already gone dry.
He also said a special employment guarantee scheme would follow after Sankranti. The mandal committees are the State's first ground-level structure to plan works across water, fodder and jobs together.