For decades, the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh comprising undivided Kurnool, Anantapur, Kadapa, and Chittoor has grappled with a water scarcity crisis, in terms of both irrigation and drinking water needs. Many areas in this region are either in the rain-shadow or rain-deficit geographical blocks. Unfortunately, successive governments have done little to address this issue and ensure a steady water supply for the region’s 19 lakh acres of agricultural land. Despite an allocated quota of 132 tmcft from the Krishna Basin (out of the total 511 tmcft allocated by the Bachawath Commission for the State, with 299 tmcft for Telangana), the region has been left parched and in dire need of sustainable irrigation solutions.
What is the reality?
As things stand, only 8 lakh acres are irrigated in Rayalaseema region. From the inter-State Tungabhadra Dam, which is on Tungabhadra river, a tributary of Krishna, Andhra Pradesh has an assured water allocation of 32 tmcft , but never has the State been able to draw the full quantum because the Tungabhadra’s high-level main canal (HLMC) that runs over 84.24 km in the Anantapur district has not been modernised. The 48-km-long TB low-level canal (LLC) is supposed to serve an ayacut of 1.51 lakh acres in Kurnool district, but not even half of that is irrigated.
