Telangana Rules Out Broad Irrigation Releases Despite High Reservoir Storage

At a high-level review meeting held at Jalasoudha in Hyderabad, Telangana Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy directed officials to adopt a cautious approach and ruled out broad-based water releases for agriculture despite high storage levels across the Krishna and Godavari basins. The state government attributed the decision to uncertainty surrounding future inflows and the critical need to prioritise drinking water requirements.

Water storage has reached 76.63 per cent in the Krishna basin, holding 746.12 TMCft against a total capacity of 973.68 TMCft. In the Godavari basin, storage stands at 68.1 per cent, with 208.38 TMCft available against a capacity of 306.20 TMCft. Nagarjuna Sagar alone holds around 164 TMCft, retaining scope to receive another 47 per cent of its capacity in floodwaters.

Addressing officials on Tuesday, Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy instructed that water releases must be determined by actual usable storage and reliable inflows rather than speculative forecasts of heavy rainfall in September and October. He cautioned the department against treating gross storage figures as an indicator of abundant water availability.

Officials were instructed to calculate live storage, committed requirements, and the net water available for irrigation before sanctioning any releases. The minister emphasised that drinking water needs must remain the foremost priority, though standing crops should be safeguarded wherever dependable water sources are accessible.

During the review, the minister also ordered priority repair works on the Singur reservoir and called for a review of the SLBC tunnel project. He further urged stronger technical and legal preparations regarding inter-State water disputes.

Department officials were directed to assess water availability in several key projects, including Devadula, Nizamsagar, Lower Manair, and the Sri Ram Sagar Project (SRSP), to undertake irrigation releases wherever feasible.