Proactive action plan to prevent drinking water scarcity; drought mandals to be announced soon; CM Chandrababu reviews drought conditions in the state
AMARAVATI, TRINET NEWS, SEPTEMBER 19: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has instructed officials to scientifically assess drought conditions in the state and announce drought-affected mandals on October 1. He emphasized the need to identify drought mandals and take preemptive action to ensure there is no crop loss anywhere. He directed that reports on drought conditions in the state be sent to the Centre every month.
The Chief Minister held a review meeting at his camp office on Saturday regarding the prevailing drought conditions, impact of drought, status of agricultural and horticultural crops, difficulties faced by farmers, immediate measures to be taken to protect crops, and drinking water supply.
As part of the drought mandal identification process, officials explained to the Chief Minister that data from six departments is being considered, comprehensively examining rainfall, crop cultivation status, groundwater levels, soil moisture percentage, satellite imagery, and water storage in reservoirs.
Drought shadows in 513 mandals
Officials informed the Chief Minister that according to preliminary estimates for the 2026 kharif season, drought has prevailed in a total of 513 mandals across 28 districts in the state. Of these, conditions are severe in 268 mandals and moderate in 245 mandals. They stated that ground-level inspections on drought conditions will be undertaken by the Agriculture Department. Under the guidance of District Collectors, field-level teams will examine crop and yield losses, after which the Agriculture Department's field inspection report will be submitted to the District Collectors. District Collectors must submit drought proposals to the Revenue and Disaster Management Department, with September 24 set as the deadline. These proposals will be examined at the state-level committee meeting on September 29, they stated.
El Nino impact on horticultural crops
In the review, the CM stated that Rs 190 crore has already been allocated to save horticultural crops and that utmost priority should be given to them. Officials explained the impact of El Nino alongside drought conditions. They noted that crops under 1,357 RSKs across 21 districts in the state are in the high-risk category. Due to El Nino, sweet orange, acid lime, mango, red chilli, onion, and vegetable crops over 17,916 hectares are likely to be affected. With water availability decreasing, the Chief Minister directed officials to give top priority to micro-irrigation to protect a larger area with less water. He mentioned that four key farmer-related services under the Andhra Pradesh Micro Irrigation Project (APMIP) have been made available through 'Mana Mitra' WhatsApp governance. The CM directed that farmers should be encouraged to shift towards natural farming alongside micro-irrigation.
Action to prevent drinking water scarcity
The Chief Minister directed officials to take measures so that people do not face any drinking water difficulties anywhere in the state. He said that in areas dependent on borewells for drinking water, supply should be arranged through additional water tankers if necessary. He urged that an action plan be formulated right away to prevent drinking water issues in Visakhapatnam. The CM emphasized holding an emergency meeting with engineers and contractors to undertake Visakhapatnam drinking water supply-related works. He suggested exploring war-footing possibilities to fill reservoirs near Visakhapatnam. He called for accelerating the works to transport water through a pipeline under Package No. 8 from the Polavaram LMC to Meghadrigadda. Officials briefed the Chief Minister that Visakhapatnam city currently has water reserves sufficient for another 2 months.
