Telangana’s drought panel meets: 358 mandals on the preliminary list, a 31 October deadline to declare

Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka chaired the first meeting of the Cabinet sub-committee on drought and El Niño at the Secretariat on 23 October. Here is what was decided, and what it means for villages.

Chief Secretary Sanjay Jaju told the meeting that preliminary assessments have flagged 358 mandals. Telangana has 621 mandals, so the list covers well over half the state. The figure is provisional: the committee has set itself until 31 October to identify and declare the drought-affected mandals.

Bhatti Vikramarka asked officials not to stop at mandals in acute drought. Mandals where the overall impact of the dry spell exceeds 20 per cent should also be considered, he said.

What will the government actually do?

Every department has been asked to prepare its own action plan. The priorities named at the meeting are drinking water, irrigation supply, uninterrupted power, support for farmers and rural employment.

The committee also agreed to assess the additional at-risk mandals and put the evidence together in a memorandum to the Centre, to seek assistance under the applicable schemes.

The panel was formed by a government order on 19 October. Besides Bhatti Vikramarka, its members are Ministers Uttam Kumar Reddy, Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy, Danasari Anasuya (Seethakka), Tummala Nageswara Rao and Vakiti Srihari. K. Ramakrishna Rao is a special invitee. Its brief is to monitor the drought and El Niño situation, direct departments, recommend measures and flag issues that must go to the Government of India.

An all-party meeting on the situation will be convened soon, the committee decided. No date has been fixed.