Telangana in top four in national Water Bodies Census

Telangana, stood fourth in implementation of water conservation schemes and check dams in the latest Water bodies Census report released by the Ministry of Jal Shakti on March 29

Hyderabad: Telangana, which is leading in water conservation and rainwater harvesting initiatives in the country, has stood fourth in implementation of water conservation schemes and check dams in the latest Water bodies Census report released by the Ministry of Jal Shakti on March 29.

However, the data calculation is based on the year 2017-18, when Telangana government’s flagship programme Mission Kakatiya had just begun, officials point out, adding that in the last five years, following the initiatives taken by the Telangana government in the field of water conservation, the water availability in the State and the related situation had improved several folds. In fact, water availability in Telangana now was such that a majority of the tanks and ponds were full even during March and April and there was enough water for both the Vanakalam and Yasangi seasons.

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“With the successful implementation of Mission Kakatiya and interlinking of minor, medium and major irrigation projects with tanks and ponds, there has been substantial improvement in the availability of water in Telangana in the last five years. We are placed very well as far as water availability is considered,” Sridhar Rao Deshpande, Officer on duty (OSD) to CM for irrigation projects, told Telangana Today.

The effect of Mission Kakatiya and other water conservation initiatives taken up by the Telangana government would be reflected in the next Water bodies Census report, Deshpande said. “I am sure that in the next Census, the tremendous improvement in water availability in the State will be reflected,” he said.

The Ministry of Jal Shakti launched the Census of Water Bodies in convergence with the 6th Minor Irrigation Census under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme “Irrigation Census”. According to the Census report, Telangana has a total of 64,056 water bodies, out of which 98.5 percent are in rural areas and 1.5 percent in urban areas. Of the total water resources, 10,170 are naturally formed and 53,886 are man-made. Of these, 20.3 percent are filled annually, 41.9 percent usually, 29.8 percent rarely and 8 percent are never filled.

As per the Census 80.5 percent of the water resources in Telangana are under the control of the government and 19.5 percent of the private owners . However, only 80.8 percent of the total water resources are in use and 19.2 percent have become unusable due to drying, accumulation of silt, destruction beyond repair and high salt content, the report said.

The State, which is giving top priority to agriculture, uses 58 .2 percent of the available water resources for irrigation purposes and 37.1 percent for groundwater recharge . During the Census water levels of 43,695 water bodies in the State were calculated and it was found that 22.1 percent of them were completely full, 26.1 percent one-third full, 19.3 percent half, 19.3 percent one-fourth full of water and 13.2 percent water bodies were found empty. In total, 24.4 percent of water resources have a water capacity of more than 10.000 cubic meters

The Census report reveals that as many as 3032 water bodies have been encroached in the State, out of which 50.8 percent are ponds and the remaining 49.2 percent are ponds, lakes, reservoirs, water conservancy schemes and check dams . Out of this 2028 resource encroachments have been identified. Out of them 69. 8 percent of water resources are under 25 percent encroachment, 19.8 percent between 25-75 percent and 10.4 percent of them were under more than 75 percent encroachment.

Water bodies Census Report (Data collected in 2017-18)

Total Water Bodies: 64,056
Water Bodies in Rural: 98.5%
Water Bodies in Urban: 1.5%
Encroachment: 3032
Natural Water bodies: 10,170
Man Made Water bodies: 53,886
Water bodies under Govt: 80.5%
Water bodies Private: 19.5%
Percentage of usable water: 80.8%
Percentage of Unusable Water: 19.2%