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Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy directed officials to come up with an action plan to tackle the emerging crisis conditions caused by El Niño, a global weather phenomenon that has weakened the monsoon and is causing a rainfall deficit and drought conditions across India. He also noted that the power crisis could intensify in the coming days, at a review meeting with senior officials held on Saturday, October 10 on the El Niño weather conditions in the state.
CM Revanth cautioned that the next eight months would be crucial in dealing with the El Niño crisis. “While the government is prepared to incur any necessary expenditure to procure the required electricity for the state, the CM made it clear that the availability of power in the market is scarce,” a statement from the CM’s office said. Officials were asked to take measures to temporarily postpone electricity-intensive activities wherever possible.
The Chief Minister also instructed officials to appeal to the Union government to provide an additional 50 days of employment as against the present maximum of 125 days under the employment guarantee scheme, Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission-Gramin (VB-GRAM G). The state government is ready to facilitate these extra workdays, the CM said.
The Chief Minister also ordered officials to assess the standing crops and ensure that there is no water shortage until the harvest is complete, in view of an impending water crisis.
The Telangana government has adopted a resolution in the Assembly appealing that the Union government declare around 215 mandals as drought-affected and allocate a special package of Rs 20,000 crore as relief, the CMO said.
CM Revanth asked officials to come up with a robust action plan to address the impending crises of drinking water, irrigation, agriculture and electricity supply. The meeting discussed creating awareness about El Niño conditions from the village level, through a campaign across TV channels, cinema theatres and cultural troupes.
