Of the 29 states of the country, Telangana is the only state where the interconnectivity between different canals, lakes and rivers is strong, opined irrigation minister T Harish Rao.
‘’However, due to a number of reasons starting from ill maintenance to encroachment, we have been losing out on the precious water, which can otherwise be put to productive use,” he said.
As a part of Mission Kakatiya, a Telangana government’s initiative that aims at effectively utilizing the 265 tmc of water allocated to minor irrigation resources under the Godavari and Krishna basins, a one-day consultative workshop on the governance of tanks in the state was organised by the Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi and Marri Chenna Reddy Human Resource Development Institute here on Friday.
‘‘Ever since a separate state of Andhra Pradesh was formed, the development of lakes took a backseat. Today, there are number of locations in Hyderabad, that were once water bodies,” he said, further adding, ‘’most of the existing water bodies are crying for attention.’’
Further, he detailed about the various government initiatives in reviving the tanks and lakes. ‘’We have identified close to 46,000 tanks which we plan to develop in the next five years by focusing on 9,000 tanks per year,” he said. He said unclean catchment areas and siltation are some of the reasons for disappearance of lakes. ‘‘We have roped in revenue, forest and agriculture departments and we will work towards making every lake a mini tank bund,’’ he said.
Source: The New Indian Express