Mission Kakatiya stabilises 5.59 lakh ha, rises groundwater level

HYDERABAD: Telangana Government's flagship programme 'Mission Kakatiya' aimed to restore tanks, stabilised 5.59 lakh hectares of land, and increased groundwater level and purity by retaining monsoon rainfall, according to a study.

In the paper ‘Impact of Tank Restoration Programme (Mission Kakatiya) on Groundwater Regime, Telangana State, India: A Case Study from Stressed Hard Rock Aquifer’ published in the Journal of the Geological Society of India, Volume 99, May 2023, the authors quantified the benefits of the tank restoration programme implemented by the Telangana Government.

The paper said that tank irrigation was an ideal type of irrigation for Telangana, owing to the topography and rainfall pattern in the State. The desilting of the tanks led to a positive impact not only on improvement in the water table and groundwater quality but also on the socio-economic status of people residing in the area.

The results

A rising trend in water levels was observed in all watersheds from 0.42 metre/year to 2.87 m/yr with an average of 1.27 m/yr. It was found that the average rise was more in the post-monsoon season (1.29 m) than pre-monsoon season (1.09 m) confirming the retention of rainwater by the restored tanks.

During the initial years of Mission Kakatiya (2015-20), a reduction was found in Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), chlorine and nitrite levels and a marked increase in bicarbonates. The researchers also found an overall improvement in groundwater quality.

Increase in cropped area

An increase in resource augmentation was observed in the influence zone of renovated tanks in all the watersheds, which helped in increasing the gross cropped area and irrigation intensity.

The Telangana Government in 2015 launched Mission Kakatiya to bring back the lost glory of tanks built by Kakatiya kings to enhance the development of agriculture-based income for small and marginal farmers through sustainable irrigation sources.

Under this programme, the restoration of 27,472 tanks was undertaken with people’s participation. Ground water department monitored water levels and water quality of 172 wells selected from nine overstressed watersheds in the state and studied the impact of tank restoration on the groundwater regime for six years.

Hydrographs of monitoring wells reflected a 19 percent rise in the influence zone compared to the wells in the non-influence zone. A significant improvement in groundwater quality in the influence zone was observed as the concentration of total dissolved solids reduced significantly.

The study further suggested the need for the continuation and restoration of all the earlier lifelines of irrigation tanks for the sustainable development of groundwater resources and land productivity. It was also suggested to replicate the tank restoration programme in other similar hydrogeological environments of the country to address the water woes.