Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Commission Chairman M. Kodanda Reddy, along with the members, met Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and stressed the need to create an exclusive department for Minor Irrigation by separating from the existing Irrigation Department for better management of small water bodies.
The team including KVN Reddy, Bhavani Reddy, Gadugu Gangadhar, and Cheviti Venkanna Yadav met the Minister at the State Secretariat here on Saturday and highlighted the need to form water management committees with local farmers and measures for conservation of ponds, lakes, and kuntas that are part of minor irrigation.
Due to the merger of minor irrigation with major irrigation during the previous BRS government, ponds in villages were encroached upon. Real estate traders had encroached upon the tanks and other small water bodies; layouts were also marked in the ponds,” they said, claiming that the previous BRS government’s neglect of minor irrigation management led to the complete drying up of the State’s ponds.
The Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Commission has also made several suggestions for better-management of ponds in villages and increasing the groundwater table. These include declaring 2025 a minor irrigation year and allocating funds. Full tank level (FTL) should be decided for all ponds, and boundaries should be fixed. During the rainy season, no unauthorised structures or barriers should be erected in the catchment area to ensure every rainwater drop reaches the pond.
“Karnataka has set up a lake authority to manage minor irrigation (ponds, kuntas and canals) and has taken several steps to conserve groundwater in the State. Similarly, the chain of lakes system that has been in place since the Kakatiya period in Telangana should be strengthened again. To manage all this, water associations should be formed with local farmers,” the commission observed.
Meanwhile, the Telangana Agriculture Officers Association members met Agriculture and Farmers Commission Chairman at his office to discuss pressing issues affecting farmers and agriculture department employees. They said farmers are happy with the loan waiver scheme and the ₹500 bonus on paddy. The team urged the Commission to take steps to provide agricultural equipment and implements under the farm mechanisation scheme for the benefit of farmers. Commission Chairman Kodanda Reddy announced that the government is poised to allocate ₹26 crore to provide these essential tools.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kodanda Reddy unveiled the Agriculture Diary on the occasion.
Published – January 25, 2025 11:26 pm IST
