Hyderabad: To address the issue of depleting water levels in Telangana — where most of the taluks or mandals are either drought-prone or semi-drought prone — a district collector has worked wonders to raise the groundwater level by as many as six metres.
Rajanna-Sircilla’s district collector ever since its creation in 2016, Devarakonda Krishna has achieved the feat by the successful implementation of the government schemes.
“Water scarcity has been a never-ending issue for the district. All the taluks or mandals were labelled, in the category of drought-prone or semi drought-prone,” 36-year-old Krishna was quoted as saying by The Better India.
The severe scarcity of water made it exceptionally difficult in harsh summer days. “Hundreds of grievances were filed for the demand of water tankers for supply, RO (reverse osmosis) plants for construction and overhead water storage reservoir sanctions. To tackle the water scarcity, many initiatives were launched on priority,” Krishna told the website.
His implementation included upgrading tanks to having piped water systems, land acquisition of reservoirs, desiltation of water storage bodies, trench digging and capacity building for water storage. During that time the Rajanna-Sircilla district went on a massive drive of water conservation, according to the website.
“Over the last three years, a significant progress is achieved by effectively implementing government schemes like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and creating reservoirs,” Krishna explained.
“The Sri Rajarajeswara Reservoir with a capacity of 27 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) became operational after the project stayed stuck for a decade because of legal issues. In the process, it became the biggest reservoir in the state,” the IAS officer further clarifies.
It took one-and-a-half years for the project to complete, and by that time the operation of Annapurna reservoir also began.
“Carrying out the desiltation activities on Upper Manair reservoir, reviving small water bodies, ponds and filling water tanks were other measures taken at a micro level,” Krishna added.
A total of 699 water tanks were identified across the district out of which 450 are brimming this year. “A unique initiative called Gudi Cheruvu was undertaken which involved acquiring land to increase water capacity of tanks inside the temples and reduce water scarcity at the local level,” Krishna says.
Multiple approaches at all levels eventually yielded results and the groundwater level apparently went up by six metres. “The levels went up steadily over a period spanning 12 to 18 months. The figures are confirmed and documented by the groundwater survey authorities,” the officer says. “The result was that agriculture activities increased by 150% in the district. It has been a gradual rise but steady.”
According to the officer, the central government recognised his water management practices implemented for three years in a row. Premier training institute for government servants, the Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy of Administration, Mussoorie, also took note of it and drafted it into their curriculum.
Success was achieved by prioritising the responsibilities and addressing them effectively, Krishna says. “All the initiatives implemented already exist in the government system. Being a new district, the administration was under a lot of pressure to be active and deliver on the right notes. What we did was to prioritise and implement those schemes effectively on the ground,” the officer adds.