Telangana CM Revanth urges farmers to defer one crop cycle due to El Niño

Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy asked farmers to defer one crop this farming season, saying that the next nine to 10 months would be very difficult because of the El Niño situation. He said the current El Niño phase is unprecedented and has created immense pressure on the water and power situation in the state. 

The CM said that the state needs farmers’ help to secure drinking water supply for Telangana. He was addressing the media after a meeting with Ministers on the El Niño situation on Thursday, October 15.

“I request all my farmer brothers and sisters in Telangana to defer one crop this farming season. The next nine to 10 months will be very difficult. We will have less water because of this unprecedented El Niño situation. Only then would we be able to secure Telangana’s drinking water supply,” the CM said. 

“If farmers sow at a time of water shortage, they might face severe losses and also affect the drinking water situation. My dear farmers, you have given us food whenever we needed it and asked for it. Now we are asking you for water as well,” he said.

Revanth added that agricultural labourers who are impacted by this would be compensated through the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) scheme. “Through VB-G RAM G, we will focus on irrigation and nala work, so when the rains come we will be better equipped to deal with this problem if it ever happens again,” he said.

The CM said that the government had earlier requested farmers to avoid planting water-intensive paddy as a rainfall deficit was expected. About 53 lakh acres were planted with paddy while in around 13 lakh acres, farmers avoided paddy, he said, adding that the state’s water situation wasn’t conducive for paddy farming in the next eight to 10 months.

He said that the state’s reservoirs were depleted, with the Krishna basin reservoirs having 72% less water compared to last year, and Godavari reservoirs seeing a drop of 42%. “No reservoir has enough water to supply both drinking and farming needs. Usually, at this time in a typical year, we have 462 tmc of water across all reservoirs. Today, we have only 200 tmc. This is an unprecedented moment of crisis for all of us,” he said.

Revanth also spoke of the power consumption and generation situation in the state, noting that demand had gone up massively. He said that usually the power consumption in October is around 15,000 MW, but this year it is over 20,000 MW.

“Several other states such as Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Kerala also have a power problem. There isn’t any power to buy,” he said. He called on people to conserve water and power till the next monsoon in July 2027.