10 years of Telangana: Hope and greenery regerminate, thanks to KCR’s brainchild Mission Kakatiya

HYDERABAD: Telangana's agricultural fields now resemble a green carpet, thanks to Mission Kakatiya, the brainchild of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao.

Mission Kakatiya, one of the most significant initiatives that began shortly after the Telangana administration was founded, was initiated with the goal of restoring ponds and boosting the accessibility of water.

The impact of Mission Kakatiya became exceedingly obvious after the Union government implemented the project under the name ‘Amrit Sarovar’. Mission Kakatiya was carried out by the Telangana government with the goal of restoring ponds and enhancing water supplies.

Mission Kakatiya was put in place with the primary goal of increasing agriculture-based income development for small and marginal farmers by accelerating the development of minor irrigation infrastructure, strengthening community-based irrigation management and implementing a comprehensive tank restoration programme.

The irrigation system of chain ponds, developed by the Kakatiya rulers, is of utmost importance in accordance with Telangana's geophysical circumstances. However, the system of ponds was fragmented during the Union rule.

The government has named the initiative in honour of the Kakatiyas to bring ponds back to life like in the case of River Ganga.

The government has prioritised the rehabilitation of small irrigation tanks in order to restore them to their original capacity and properly utilise the 255 TMC of water allotted to the Godavari and Krishna River basins for the minor irrigation sector. The minimal area that can be irrigated with the above-mentioned water allocation is approximately 20 lakh acres.

 More than 47,000 ponds in the state have been restored, pond embankments have been fortified, canals and culverts have been rebuilt and silt has been removed as a result of this programme and consequently, the water storage capacity of ponds in the state has increased greatly.

The investment of Rs 5,350 crore in repairing ponds, building huge check dams and revitalising streams has stabilised lakhs of acres of ayacut. The ayacut irrigation system includes approximately 15 lakh acres, and the state government has initiated construction of 1,200 check dams at a cost of 3,825 crores. The first phase of construction, which included 650 check dams, has been completed and other check dams are now being built.

The government has taken steps to channel water from big and medium-scale projects to the Mission Kakatiya-restored ponds via canals, keeping the ponds filled even during the dry season.

The government has taken measures to divert water from large- and medium-scale projects to the ponds restored by Mission Kakatiya through canals and keep them full even during the dry season.

Today, ground water is running low in several areas of the country. However, in Telangana, agriculture fields resemble a green carpet due to abundant irrigation water from the ayacut.