Severe drought conditions in 320 mandals of Telangana
Hyderabad, Oct 6 (IANS) Preliminary assessments indicate severe drought conditions across 320 mandals in 18 districts of Telangana due to the El Nino effect, officials said on Tuesday.
Telangana has a total of 621 mandals across 33 districts.
Telangana Chief Secretary Sanjay Jaju directed officials to immediately prepare a comprehensive report on the drought conditions prevailing in the state.
He held a review meeting regarding the State Disaster Management Department at the Dr B.R. Ambedkar Telangana State Secretariat.
The Chief Secretary instructed officials to gather comprehensive data from various departments—including Planning, Revenue, Groundwater, Agriculture, Panchayat Raj, and Rural Water Supply—and to identify drought-affected mandals in accordance with established norms.
He advised that the comprehensive drought report be prepared by taking into account 12 standard parameters, including the rainfall recorded during the Southwest Monsoon season (June to September).
The Chief Secretary directed officials to undertake the process of declaring drought-affected mandals based on government regulations and prescribed standards, and to prepare a comprehensive report on the matter by the end of October.
He also instructed officials to prepare a detailed report containing all necessary information for the all-party meeting that the state government has decided to convene regarding the impact of El Nino.
Principal Secretary (Finance) Sandeep Kumar Sultania, Principal Secretary (Disaster Management) Rahul Bojja, and Secretaries Dasari Harichandana and Gaurav Uppal, among others, participated in the meeting.
The state Cabinet, at its meeting last week, decided to convene an all-party meeting on the impact of El Nino and seek suggestions from political parties before finalising its response.
A Cabinet sub-committee has also been asked to assess the situation and submit a detailed report.
It was also decided by the Cabinet that a delegation of ministers will visit Delhi to meet Central ministers and submit a comprehensive report. The Centre will be requested to declare the affected mandals as drought-hit and provide financial assistance to the state to take up relief measures.
Telangana recorded 17 per cent deficit rainfall during the southwest monsoon, which ended on September 30.
Officials had earlier said that around 235 mandals were facing drought-like conditions.
–IANS
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