Mission Kakatiya acknowledged at national level again

The latest report of the Social Progress Index for States and Districts submitted to Centre says Mission Kakatiya improved Telangana's water table

Hyderabad: The successful role of the State government’s flagship programme, Mission Kakatiya, in improving groundwater levels and making water available for irrigation and drinking purposes, has once again been acknowledged on the national level.

The latest report of the Social Progress Index (SPI) for States and Districts, prepared by the Institute for Competitiveness and Social Progress Imperative, and submitted to the Economic Advisory Council and to the Prime Minister, while observing groundwater levels in various States, has recognised the contribution of Mission Kakatiya in improving groundwater levels in Telangana.

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As per the report Telangana has only two districts, Hyderabad and Rajanna Sircilla, in the ‘overexploited’ category, while 23 districts were in the ‘safe’ category.

Further, the report acknowledged the proactive measures taken up by the Telangana government in increasing the water table in the State.

“Under the Mission Kakatiya of the Telangana Government, people across districts are taking an active part in the management of water resources. The Mission has given a local government body a mandate to implement various programmes, such as water withdrawal and irrigation-based community management, in a decentralized manner. In addition, proposed plans were discussed with villagers and farmers, who were motivated to be included in the process,” the report observed..

According to the report, Haryana (134.56%), Rajasthan (150.22%), Punjab (164.42%) and Delhi (101.40%) were currently in a critical stage as their groundwater extraction value was more than 100 per cent and falls in the ‘overexploited’ category. Arunachal Pradesh (0.36%), Sikkim (0.86%), Nagaland (1.04%), Andaman and Nicobar Islands (2.6%), and Mizoram (3.81%) fall in the safe range and have the lowest percent of groundwater extraction than the rest of the country.

When it comes to water extraction, over 110 districts witness over exploitation of groundwater resources, i.e., water withdrawal as a percentage of water available is more than 100 per cent for these districts. Out of these, water extraction in 17 districts is more than 200 per cent, with Jaisalmer (Rajasthan), Sangrur (Punjab), Jalandhar (Punjab) and Jodhpur (Rajasthan) having the highest percentages of water extraction at 318.63 percent, 301.62 per cent, 257.59 per cent and 254.07 per cent respectively. In comparison, 513 districts were within the safe stage of groundwater extraction (70%).