Four Waters Concept can drought-proof Telangana, says former NDMA vice-chairman | Hyderabad News

Hyderabad: National Disaster Management Authority former vice-chairman Marri Shashidhar Reddy has called for implementing Four Waters Concept on a large scale to tackle recurring droughts, arguing that watershed development could ensure water availability for three crops a year even during drought conditions.Speaking to the media, Shashidhar said El Niño was a recurring climate phenomenon whose impact could be compounded by climate change, making it necessary to move beyond temporary drought relief towards a long-term strategy for drought-proofing.He said Four Waters Concept, developed by irrigation expert T Hanumantha Rao, had delivered results in rain-fed areas but remained largely under-utilised despite several govt programmes aimed at water conservation.The model follows a ridge-to-valley approach, combining 10 earthworks and four vegetative measures across watersheds. It was first implemented in villages in Telangana and Rayalaseema in 2001 at a cost of about ₹5,000 per acre, according to Shashidhar.He cited Gottigaripalli village in Sangareddy district as an example, saying it remained unaffected by consecutive droughts in 2014 and 2015 and continued to secure water for three crops annually with minimal maintenance. The approach was also implemented in Rajasthan between 2014 and 2018, he said.Shashidhar said the model required a minimum average annual rainfall of about 500 mm, while several drought-affected states received between 650 mm and 1,200 mm annually. He estimated the current cost at around ₹15,000 per acre.The benefits, he said, included improved groundwater levels, reduced soil erosion, sustained stream flows and lower dependence on drought relief. It could also reduce distress migration and the need for expensive river-linking and inter-basin water transfer projects.Reddy said Telangana should prioritise the model as farmers face uncertainty over irrigation water and crop prospects amid rainfall deficits associated with El Niño. He argued that watershed-based water conservation offered a long-term alternative to repeatedly spending on drought relief.