HYDERABAD: Irrigation minister T Harish Rao requested Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari to include Telangana in the proposed “Atal Bhujal Yojana” (ABHY) for sustainable management of groundwater resources. During the NWDA meeting in Delhi on Monday, Harish Rao handed a letter to this effect to Gadkari.
The Central government proposed to introduce ABHY for groundwater management with community participation in select overexploited and groundwater stressed states in Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, MP, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and UP. “As per GEC methodology, there are 42 overexploited mandals in Telangana. The groundwater department of the state with Central Ground Water Board has prepared a plan at an estimated cost of `736.46 crores for the construction of 21,235 artificial structures for groundwater recharge,” Harish said.
In another letter, he told Gadkari that NITI Aayog selected 115 districts as aspirational districts throughout the country for several development schemes such as surface minor irrigation scheme (SMI) and RRR schemes.