Hyderabad: Telangana Irrigation and CAD Minister Capt. N. Uttam Kumar Reddy called for a unified national water-security framework covering every water-conservation work.
He proposed giving every asset a unique identity, assigning a responsible agency and measuring its actual water-security outcome.
Uttam Kumar Reddy made the proposal while addressing the Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari departmental summit in New Delhi. The Ministry of Jal Shakti organised the first such summit at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan.
The event brought together Union and State leaders and senior officials as part of a collaborative Team India platform.
The Minister said water security should go beyond engineering works and departmental programmes. Instead, he described it as a public mission linked to drinking water, agriculture, rural livelihoods, urban resilience and environmental protection.
He called for rainwater conservation to become a people’s movement. Households should have suitable recharge facilities, while agricultural fields should get conservation structures and villages should have dependable community water bodies.
However, Uttam Kumar Reddy stressed that agencies must design each intervention according to local geology, aquifers, runoff patterns and actual water needs.
He said several programmes currently fund water-conservation works. These include MGNREGS, PMKSY, Finance Commission grants, CAMPA, watershed initiatives, State schemes, local bodies and CSR.
Without convergence, the Minister warned, fragmented planning could result in unsuitable sites, duplication, repeated reporting and weak maintenance.
Water-security framework to improve conservation monitoring
Uttam Kumar Reddy proposed geo-tagging every water-conservation asset and assigning it a unique identity. The system should also record the funding source and identify a specific custodian.
Furthermore, he said authorities should measure the water-security framework’s performance through restored storage, groundwater recharge, improved water levels, asset functionality and year-round water availability.
The Minister highlighted Telangana’s performance under Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari. He said the State was recognised as the best-performing State in 2025, while 13 Telangana districts entered India’s top 50 for water conservation.
Telangana has 44,360 water bodies and tanks. Authorities have taken up works in 28,739 of them and completed restoration in 22,428.
The State has 74 major and medium irrigation projects with irrigation potential of 74.51 lakh acres. Another 53.18 lakh acres of potential remains to be realised.
Telangana’s three-year plan for 2026–29 targets the creation or stabilisation of irrigation facilities across 17.28 lakh acres. The plan carries an outlay of Rs 46,110.35 crore.
Of the 4.43 lakh acres required for irrigation projects, the State has acquired 3.95 lakh acres. Uttam Kumar Reddy called for action on the remaining land requirements and fair, speedy rehabilitation of 60,531 project-displaced families.
Telangana pushes tank restoration and groundwater recharge
The Minister called for complete restoration of tank chains, including feeder and surplus channels. He also sought removal of encroachments and obstructions, protection of Full Tank Levels and updating of official records.
Meanwhile, he said agencies should locate groundwater-recharge structures only after scientific assessment of aquifers, fractures and runoff.
Priority, he added, should go to over-exploited groundwater zones, drought-prone clusters and habitations facing drinking-water shortages.
Authorities should record baseline conditions before starting works. They should then measure and publicly disclose post-monsoon results.
For urban areas, Uttam Kumar Reddy sought strict implementation of rooftop rainwater harvesting. He also called for lake rejuvenation and protection of lake inflow channels.
He cited improvements at Saireddy Lake, Bathukamma Kunta and Nallacheruvu as examples of coordinated urban action.
The Minister raised concerns over reservoir sedimentation. Telangana’s 159 major and medium reservoirs have combined capacity of around 929 TMC, he said.
Studies covering 18 projects with assessed capacity of 222.90 TMC found storage losses of 40.97 TMC due to sedimentation. The loss represented about 22.95 per cent of the assessed capacity.
Telangana seeks Central support under water-security framework
Telangana has started revenue-based pilot desiltation programmes at the Lower Manair, Mid Manair and Kadem reservoirs.
The programmes target restoration of 3.74 TMC of storage by removing about 9.51 lakh metric tonnes of sediment.
Based on the pilot results, the State could consider similar works at SRSP, Nizamsagar, Jurala, Nagarjunasagar, Musi and Pocharam.
Uttam Kumar Reddy sought Central assistance for eligible ongoing projects under PMKSY. He also requested relaxation of inclusion conditions where appropriate, suitable flexibility under FRBM norms and access to Infrastructure Development Fund loans.
He sought time-bound environmental clearances and guidance for projects affected by the Supreme Court’s position after July 29, 2026.
The Minister also sought timely facilitation of inter-State water-sharing matters. He said Telangana needed technical and financial support for reservoir-capacity studies and restoration.
Uttam Kumar Reddy urged the Central Water Commission and the Ministry of Jal Shakti to deepen coordination with States.
He also called for artificial intelligence to support rainfall and inflow forecasting, reservoir operations and evidence-based decisions.
The Minister proposed one water-security plan for every village and town. Local plans, he said, should feed into a unified State asset register and a common performance-measurement system.
“Every rupee spent, every structure created and every community mobilised must produce a measurable and lasting water benefit,” he said.
He also said Telangana was ready to share its experience in tank restoration, community participation and reservoir-desiltation pilots with other States.
Uttam Calls for Unified National Water-Security Framework
Telangana Minister proposes unique identity, responsible agency and measurable outcome for every water-conservation asset
Seeks Central assistance for irrigation projects, reservoir restoration and AI-based water… pic.twitter.com/B2ePoprRGa
— IPRDepartment (@IPRTelangana) September 2, 2026