Telangana Minister Calls for Unified National Water-Security Framework at Delhi Summit

Minister Proposes National Water-Security Plan

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. He was addressing the Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari summit organized by the Ministry of Jal Shakti at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Reddy 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. He stressed that 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, he said, must be scientifically designed according to local geology, aquifers, runoff patterns and actual water requirements.

The minister 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. Reddy 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. He argued that performance 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.

Telangana's Water-Security Model

Telangana will showcase its unified water-security model at a two-day departmental summit organized by the Ministry of Jal Shakti in New Delhi from Tuesday, as reported by Deccan Chronicle. The event focuses on four themes: timely implementation of water-infrastructure projects, Catch the Rain campaign, sustainability of drinking-water sources, and operation and maintenance of rural drinking-water supply systems.

According to officials, Telangana has 44,000 minor irrigation sources, of which approximately 28,000 tanks have been mapped, geotagged and restored. These interventions have helped stabilize irrigation across nearly 25.7 lakh acres and recover about 9.7 TMC of storage capacity. The state also increased its water-conservation structures from around 5.61 lakh to 15.88 lakh.

Reddy highlighted Telangana's achievements, noting that the state was recognized as the best-performing state under Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari in 2025, with 13 districts among India's top 50 in water conservation. He also mentioned that Telangana was recognized as the best state in water conservation in 2024, with 13 districts among the country's top 15 water-conserving districts, as per Deccan Chronicle.

Irrigation Infrastructure and Challenges

Reddy provided details on Telangana's water infrastructure, stating that the state has 44,360 water bodies and tanks, with works taken up in 28,739 and restoration completed in 22,428. He noted that 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.

To address this, Telangana 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.

Reddy also highlighted the state's irrigation potential, noting that 74 major and medium irrigation projects have created irrigation potential for 74.51 lakh acres, while another 53.18 lakh acres remain to be realized. He outlined a three-year plan for 2026–29 that seeks to create or stabilize irrigation facilities across 17.28 lakh acres, involving an outlay of Rs 46,110.35 crore.

He stressed the need to address remaining land requirements, noting that of the 4.43 lakh acres required for irrigation projects, 3.95 lakh acres have been acquired. He also emphasized the need to rehabilitate 60,531 project-displaced families.

Request for Central Support

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. These requests were part of his address at the summit, as reported by The Times of India.