According to WWF, some 1.1 billion people worldwide lack access to water, and a total of 2.7 billion find water scarce for at least one month of the year. Inadequate sanitation is also a problem for 2.4 billion people and they are exposed to diseases such as cholera, typhoid, fever and other water-borne illnesses. Two million people, mostly children, die each year from diarrheal diseases alone. At the current consumption rate, this situation will only get worse. By 2025, two-thirds of the world’s population may face water shortages.

Water is the most common part of all our lives but is usually not valued and taken for granted. According to the latest report on earth.org, 17 countries are listed in the category of suffering from extremely high baseline water stress viz., Qatar, Israel, Lebanon, Iran, Jordan, Libya, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Eritrea, United Arab Emirates, San Marino, Bahrain, India, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Oman and Botswana. India represents about 18% of the global population but only possesses 4% of the world’s fresh water. And according to reports, it seems that the situation will be soon aggravated after China launched a new ambitious project in 2021 in building the world’s most powerful hydroelectric plant on the upstream stretch of the Brahmaputra River, which flows from Tibet into India.

According to WWF, some 1.1 billion people worldwide lack access to water, and a total of 2.7 billion find water scarce for at least one month of the year. Inadequate sanitation is also a problem for 2.4 billion people and they are exposed to diseases such as cholera, typhoid, fever and other water-borne illnesses. Two million people, mostly children, die each year from diarrheal diseases alone. At the current consumption rate, this situation will only get worse. By 2025, two-thirds of the world’s population may face water shortages.

Increasing population, growth in agriculture, industrialization and high living standards have boosted further water demand. Besides, droughts, overexploitation and pollution have decreased the water supply. To make up for this shortfall, water is consumed from lakes, rivers, wetlands, groundwater etc., causing serious environmental damage.
Telangana has prominent perennial rivers such as Godavari in the north and Krishna in the south. Other rivers such as Bhima, Manair, Penganga, Akeru, Dindi, Manjeera, Paleru, and PeddaVagu also irrigate the state. Telangana though blessed with rivers is mostly dry and experiences a semi-arid climate, with monsoonal rainfall.

Though the state has taken up measures for conserving water, the implementation is not up to the mark. Therefore, the state government is now focusing more on the implementation of missions. The government had already made it mandatory to construct ‘Rain Water Harvesting Structures’ in all premises where the plot area is more than 200 sq. mts. Apart from this, there are various other projects taken up by the state which include, Tank management (2006 – 2016), Telangana Water Sector Improvement Project (TSWSIP), Jal Kranthi Abhiyan (ongoing), National Hydrology Project (ongoing) etc. out of which ‘Mission Kakatiya’ is the most prominent and represents a model for others to follow.

The Telangana State has taken up the programme of restoring the minor irrigation sources under the title Mission Kakatiya (Mana Ooru Mana Cheruvu). The mission aims at retrieving the lost glory of minor irrigation in the state with community participation for ensuring sustainable water security.

The objective of Mission Kakatiya is to increase the development of agriculture-based income for small and marginal farmers, by speeding up the development of minor irrigation infrastructure, strengthening community-based irrigation management and adopting a comprehensive programme for restoration of tanks.

In July 2014 the Irrigation Department of Telangana carried out for the first time, the census of Minor Irrigation sources in Telangana. As per the enumeration, the total number of tanks was found to be around 46,531. The irrigation department has planned to restore all 46,531 minor irrigation sources in the state. The Government has prioritized the restoration of minor irrigation tanks to restore them to store their original capacity and to effectively utilize 255 TMC of water allocated for the Minor irrigation sector under the Godavari and Krishna River basins.

Impact of Mission Kakatiya

Tank Silt Application: The impact assessment survey shows a decrease in consumption of chemical fertilizers by 35 — 50% which resulted in reduced expenditure on fertilizers by 27.60% over the base year. Further, the tank silt application contributed to an increase in crop yields, reduction of soil erosion, increase in soil moisture retention, levelling of plot sizes etc.

Ground Water: Another good impact of Mission Kakatiya is an increase in groundwater levels in the tank influence areas. Though the rainfall during the baseline year (i.e., 2013-14) is similar to 2016, the rise in groundwater levels is more in the impact year (2016) due to larger and longer storage of water in the tanks.

Irrigation Intensity: Irrigation Intensity has been increased by 45.60%. It is mainly due to the improved water retention capacity in the tanks post-restoration works which directly increased the water retention capacity in the tanks.

Crop Yield: An increase is witnessed in the yields of Paddy, Cotton and Jowar. The increase is more significant in Rabi Paddy (19.60% and Cotton (11.60%)
Fisheries: Apart from the farmers, the other major beneficiary of Mission Kakatiya is the Fishermen community. The longer storage period of water in the tanks has resulted in increased fish weight, and so yield. On average, there is an increase of 36- 39% yield, particularly in the Rohu, Katla and Mrigala types of fish.

There is an increase in household agricultural income by 78.50% in the area. The reason for the increase can be attributed to the increase in irrigated areas and also the yields.

The first impact was found during heavy rains in 2016 when the number of breached tanks was only 930 compared to 2013 that has witnessed similar kinds of rains but resulted in the breach of 1,868 tanks. The number of breached tanks was only 930, 100 and 419 in 2016, 2019 and 2020 respectively when the Mission was implemented.

The rains that lashed the State in October 2020 were considered the heaviest rainfall in over 150 years. The restored and de-silted tanks withstood 25-32 centimetres of rain in a short period. According to the Water Resources Department, only 42 tanks were breached in the Musi command area of Medchal, Vikarabad and Ranga Reddy districts. If we look at basin-wise statistics, 216 tanks were breached in Krishna, and 203 in Godavari taking the number to 419.

The rains during 2016 were also the heaviest in the century. But the bunds of tanks which were strengthened under Mission Kakatiya saved them from breaching.

The Mission while saving the farmers from depending on borewells also saved the city of Hyderabad from an even bigger danger of flooding.

Appreciating the programme, International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Chicago and Michigan Universities in their studies recognized the positive impact of restoration of water tanks. They mentioned that Mission Kakatiya has helped in an increase in the area of cultivation, a rise in production due to the increase in fertility of the soil from the silt taken from the tanks, a rise in groundwater, a reduction in the use of fertilizer and pesticides and reduction in the expenditure of the farmer.

The government of Telangana has initiated and implemented techniques to conserve water and has also involved the local community in it as well and created awareness among the population. Due to the implementation of the projects, the groundwater levels in the state are being recharged and also the restoration works have avoided the risk of flooding. Telangana is also second in water conservation and rainwater harvesting with figures of over 1.19 lakh.