Telangana launches four-month job scheme as El Niño drives dry spell

Telangana will roll out a dedicated four-month employment scheme starting after the Sankranti festival to support rural workers and farmers as dry conditions tighten across the state.

The programme, scheduled to run until May, will supplement central welfare allocations under the employment guarantee framework to create extra workdays for vulnerable households. State authorities are directing the public works towards water conservation, including the restoration of canals, village ponds, small water bodies, and agricultural access paths.

What happened to water supplies across Telangana

Extended dry weather linked to El Niño patterns has caused reservoir levels to dip below 20 per cent of their total capacity, with several irrigation projects approaching dead storage levels. Across the state, total available water is estimated at no more than 200 thousand million cubic feet (TMC).

Groundwater stress has also hit rural extraction networks hard. Half of the state's 30 lakh agricultural pump sets have dried up, leaving farmers relying increasingly on emergency tanker deliveries and careful water rationing to safeguard standing crops.

How the administration is responding

To coordinate relief operations, the state government formed a dedicated Cabinet sub-committee headed by Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, appointing senior bureaucrat K Ramakrishna Rao as special officer. A central toll-free helpline will log village grievances, while local public representatives are monitoring water and work delivery via a tracking application.

Special centres are opening across rural areas to supply cattle fodder and drinking water. Farmers are also receiving technical advisories through Rythu Vedikas, backed by cultural outreach troupes to maintain morale during the seasonal lull.

Despite heavy summer-like pressure on the state power grid, the electricity department maintained supplies to meet an unprecedented peak demand of 20,000 megawatts. By comparison, undivided Andhra Pradesh recorded peak demand of 13,000 MW during the corresponding season. Officials have encouraged wider adoption of decentralised rural solar generation, pointing to villages such as Kongareddypalli, where local producers and women’s self-help groups have generated income by feeding clean power back into the network.

Agricultural earnings have also seen support through state procurement incentives. A targeted bonus scheme for seven varieties of fine paddy helped farmgate rates reach between ₹3,400 and ₹4,000 per quintal, supported by active purchasing from out-of-state buyers.

Stronger macro fundamentals cushion El Niño impact

The local climate pressures unfold against a stable national economic backdrop. In its latest state of the economy assessment, the Reserve Bank of India noted that while global El Niño dynamics and West Asia tensions present commodity price risks, India's broader economy remains insulated by strong domestic buffers.

Merchandise exports maintained double-digit growth through the first half of the fiscal year, while contracting gold imports helped narrow the trade deficit. India's foreign exchange reserves covered 10.6 months of imports and 92.7 per cent of total external debt as of end-June. Underpinned by buoyant manufacturing and services, the International Monetary Fund raised India's annual growth forecast to 7 per cent, reinforcing the country's fiscal capacity to absorb agricultural weather shocks without endangering headline stability.