Cabinet sub-committee to assess Al-Niño drought in Telangana

Hyderabad – 6 October: In response to the deepening drought triggered by the Al‑Niño weather system, Telangana’s chief secretary Sanjay Jaju issued a directive during a Disaster Management Department review meeting to compile a thorough drought assessment.

He ordered the Planning, Revenue, Ground‑water, Agriculture, Panchayat Raj and Rural Water Supply departments to pool all relevant statistics and ground observations.

Current monitoring reveals that out of the state’s 33 districts and a total of 621 mandals, 320 mandals across 18 districts are exhibiting early signs of severe water shortage.

The analysis must use a twelve‑criteria matrix, which incorporates monsoon rainfall records for the June‑September southwest monsoon, to identify mandals qualifying for a drought declaration.

As per state protocol, the drought declaration process will commence and a comprehensive report is slated for completion by the end of October.

The chief secretary also required a separate briefing package for an upcoming all‑party conference on Al‑Niño’s impact, complete with all necessary data and metrics.

Present at the meeting were Finance Principal Secretary Sandeep Kumar Sultania, Disaster Management Principal Secretary Rahul Bojja, and various senior officials.

In a cabinet meeting held the previous week, the government decided to call an all‑party gathering to discuss Al‑Niño implications, and tasked a cabinet sub‑committee with evaluating the situation and producing a detailed report.

A delegation of ministers will travel to Delhi to submit the report to the central government, seeking official recognition of the drought‑affected mandals and financial support for relief measures.

The southwest monsoon that ended on 30 September produced rainfall about 17 % below the normal average, and earlier assessments had flagged roughly 235 mandals as facing drought‑like conditions.