BJP senior proposes technical cell and dashboard to curb Telangana’s El Niño water woes

Senior BJP leader Gudur Narayana Reddy outlined a three‑point plan on Saturday to help Telangana cope with water, farm and power strain caused by El Niño. He said the government’s focus on safeguarding drinking‑water supplies and preparing for difficult months was appropriate, but policy must now be turned into local, measurable, publicly accessible action. Reddy proposed setting up a small, time‑bound technical cell that would bring together officials from the Irrigation, Groundwater and Agriculture departments and independent hydrologists and agronomists from agricultural universities, research institutions and ICAR institutes to coordinate measures and address emerging challenges. His second suggestion was to speed up community‑level groundwater recharge and water‑conservation works in the most water‑stressed mandals, prioritising desilting tanks and check dams, developing farm ponds and creating percolation pits before peak summer. As a third measure he called for a public monitoring dashboard that tracks three key indicators: reservoir releases, the movement of drinking‑water tankers, and the number of hours of electricity supply to agricultural feeders. He stressed that coordination among government, experts, farmers and local communities is essential for the plan’s success.

Context

El Niño typically reduces rainfall in the region, heightening pressure on Telangana’s water resources. Technical cells and real‑time dashboards are tools Indian states have adopted to monitor and manage such resource stresses. Coordination across departments helps turn policy guidance into on‑ground results.