Telangana to set up nodal agency for floodplain zoning ahead of monsoon

Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy announced plans to set up a nodal agency for flood plain zoning in Telangana, focusing on mapping vulnerable areas and addressing recurring floods in Godavari and Munneru river regions before the monsoon

Hyderabad: Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy said that a dedicated nodal agency would be constituted for Flood Plain Zoning in the State and assured that the first river stretches would be identified for demarcation, along with mapping of vulnerable pockets, before the upcoming monsoon.

He presented a roadmap to address recurring floods and the extensive damage caused by them in the State during a workshop on Flood Plain Zoning for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh held here on Wednesday. The roadmap gives special focus to recurring flood problems of the River Godavari at Bhadrachalam and the Munneru in Khammam, besides other river sub-basins in the State, he said.

---

Elaborating on the Godavari flood crises, he said that at Bhadrachalam, the Godavari crosses the danger mark almost every severe monsoon, cutting off the vital Bhadrachalam-Nelipaka road and isolating communities. Stressing that every flood is different and that proper planning is essential, the Irrigation Minister explained the CWC’s three-zone framework, including Protected Zone, Regulatory Zone and Warning Zone.

“Flood Plain Zoning is not anti-development but a guarantee of intelligent and sustainable growth,” he asserted, adding that the floodplain of a river is essentially its domain. Any intrusion into it must recognise the river’s right of way, he stressed.