Conservation efforts pay dividends in Telangana

Mission Kakatiya, a flagship programme of India’s newest state Telangana to restore centuries-old village tanks through people’s participation, has started yielding results.

   A visit to Adilabad, a backward, tribal-dominated district bordering Maharashtra, revealed a discernible change in the rural landscape with several water tanks now brimming with water.

  In doing so, Mission Kakatiya has won accolades from the Union Government for setting an example for other states in reviving defunct chain of tanks, lifeline of small and marginal farmers.

  The Project “Mana Ooru- Mana Cheruvu” (Our Village-Our Tank), aims at restoring over 46,500 tanks across 10 districts of the state at a cost of Rs 20,000 crore.

 “The plan is to create a storage capacity of 255 TMC of water over a period of five years,” says state Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao.

The efforts during the past two-and-a-half years have yielded good results with several tanks now brimming with water, bringing smiles to the faces of farmers. The project is expected to boost agricultural production by at least 30%, improve groundwater table, drinking water availability and soil quality.

The project involves desilting of tanks that were built during the rule of Kakatiyas over 800 years ago and also clearing the catchment area of each tank to harvest rain water in an effective manner. The Kakatiya kings had built a chain of tanks that were interlinked. If one tank was filled the surplus would flow automatically into the next through gravity. The kings also had built canals to take the water to the fields. The chain tank concept worked well for centuries in the uplands of Telangana.

Delinking the chain

However, decreasing reliance on tank irrigation and rampant exploitation of groundwater resources have drastically affected the retaining capacity of these tanks. In several districts land sharks encroached upon tank beds and built housing projects delinking the chain.

Recognising the importance of restoration of village-level tanks the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development has released Rs 1,000 crore for the programme and promised another Rs 1,000 crore. With  Prime Minister Narendra Modi showing interest in the project, the Telangana government has approached the NITI Aayog for assistance of Rs 5,000 crore. The government is also encouraging Telangana diaspora to adopt village tanks and donate for restoration work. So far, Rs 17.09 crore donations have been received.

In the 2015-16 budget, Rs 2,083 crore has been earmarked for the project. As of now over 8,000 tanks have been restored at a cost of Rs 1,600 crore. Another 9,000 tanks were taken up under the second phase during the current financial year
Among the restored irrigation systems in the district of Adilabad is Parimandal anicut  built over 150 years ago. Strengthening of bunds with the help of silt dug out from the defunct tank in Parimandal village helped the farmers take up paddy and turmeric crops after a very long time. “With availability of water for 120 days at a stretch now we have taken up crops that we never thought of cultivating,” said Shivaiah, Sarpanch of the village. The silt has high nutrient value helping the farmers to save on fertiliser and pesticides.

“The villagers actively participated in the de-silting programme. While the water retaining capacity of the tank has increased manifold, it improved ground water recharge and drinking water facility,” Sridhar Rao Deshpande, Officer on Special Duty to the Irrigation Department, said.

Stayed away

Collector of Adilabad district M Jagan Mohan said that the villagers who were sceptical about the project initially stayed away from participating in restoration work. “Once they realised the importance of restoration they willingly came forward and helped,” he added.

Rathod Bapu Rao, the tribal legislator from Boath constituency, says there is marked increase in farming activity in his constituency due to availability of ground water, wherever the mission Kakatiya works were taken up. “Now farmers have round the year work and less time for litigation,” Rao says.

The Sadarmat anicut which was built in 1891 has also been taken up for restoration. Nine tanks under this system irrigate about 4,000 acres.

 With sufficient water available in Bora tank, one among the Sadarmat chain in Laxmanchanda, farmer Sirajuddin is confident of raising two crops this year. Many  farmers who have spent time and energies to transport the silt from the tanks have benefited.

 “I have not applied fertiliser after using the silt that was taken from the tank," said P Narsaiah, who grows turmeric under the Dyangapur tank near Nirmal town.

The concept of strengthening tanks and repairing the minor irrigation network in Adilabad, which has a long history of drought, has been a success. The Telangana government which has taken up Mission Kakatiya in a phased manner hopes to replicate it in other nine districts.

“Minor irrigation is best suited in many villages of Telangana as the average land holding is less than 1.11 acres and provides livelihood to 65 % of the farmers,” says Harish Rao.

During August , the state irrigation officials revealed that restoration of tanks has resulted in storage capacity of minor irrigation tanks going up by 2.5 TMC. A study taken up an NGO Rytu Swarajya Vedika also confirmed slight increase in storage capacity and ground water level in the districts where Mission Kakatiya was under implementation. However, there is also a word of caution about lack of enthusiasm and public participation in restoration work.