Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao has instructed the officers concerned to formulate an integrated plan to ensure that the water released by the projects, rain water and regenerated water reach the tanks straight away.
A comprehensive project report on rejuvenating minor irrigation system and tanks system for interlinking tanks has to be prepared within a week and submitted to the government, he said during a review meeting on Mission Kakatiya and Minor Irrigaion system resources held at Pragathi Bhavan here on Friday.
He said the chain of tanks constructed during the Kakatiya period were the main resource for centuries for cultivation in Telangana and they would have to be restored to their past glory through the Mission Kakatiya. Mission Kakatiya could not be considered accomplished until all the tanks were brimming with water, he asserted.
A workshop should be organised with engineering experts to prepare a plan of action and work should be started during this season itself, he said.
The meeting was attended by Chief Secretrary S.K.Joshi, Principal Secretary, Finance, K.Ramakrishna Rao, Engineer in Chief Muralidhar, CADA Commissioner Malsur and other officials and experts.
Once upon a time, excess water from one tank in the chain flowed to the next tank in the chain naturally. There were natural feeder canals for carrying water into tanks. Tanks should also be filled with water flowing through catchment areas. In 1974 itself, in accordance with the Bachawat Tribunal Award, 265 tmc of water from two river basins were allocated to the tanks in Telangana. But in due course, the tanks were destroyed, he said. As a result, Telangana farmers had to spend crores and dig more than 25 lakh borewells. Even then there were not enough of crops and agriculture sector faced crisis. The Telangana governement had taken up the Mission Kakatiya programme for revival and rejuvenation of tanks in the State. In Telangana 12,150 chains were identified in which there were 27,800 tanks. If water could reach the first tank in the chain, the feeder canals should be ready to let the excess water from the first tank to reach other tanks in the chain.
Along with revival of tanks, check dams were being built by the Irrigation, R&B and Panchayat Raj departments on a large scale. Data has to be collected to know the exact storage capacity of tanks and check-dams. Government will provide adequate funds for the purpose, he said.