Telangana Has Drought. The Government Has Meeting Minutes.

Telangana’s government has finally produced a drought plan in the traditional administrative format: a warning, a review, a meeting and no visible route from crisis to relief.

On October 23, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy warned there may be “not a single drop” of irrigation water from November through February, with drinking water taking priority and farmers potentially abandoning the next crop season. The state then declared 365 of its 621 mandals drought-affected after rainfall fell 23% below normal. This is not a minor weather inconvenience. It is a threat to cultivation, incomes and the state’s water security.

The government’s answer was an all-party meeting on October 28. Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka chaired it; Revanth Reddy was absent. The meeting reportedly ended without a concrete drought roadmap, a compensation timetable, a clear Rythu Bharosa schedule or a plan for the next cultivation season. Earlier reviews had already instructed officials to prepare action plans for drinking water, irrigation, agriculture and power. The paperwork was therefore not waiting for a miracle. It was waiting for somebody to do the job.

Meanwhile, the administration continues defending a proposed ₹1.5 lakh crore Musi riverfront project, despite criticism over the absence of a detailed project report. Telangana apparently has no irrigation water for farmers, but unlimited conceptual water for urban spectacle. The priority is wonderfully clear: first beautify the river, then work out what to do with the people whose crops cannot be watered. If this were a corporate presentation, the drought would be called a “strategic opportunity” and the missing plan would be moved to an annexure.

Revanth Reddy’s operating style is now difficult to miss: announce urgency, conduct a review, convene a meeting, request money from Delhi and leave the timetable in ceremonial fog. The Congress government wants credit for recognising the drought, sympathy for the weather and patience for the relief package. Farmers, naturally, are expected to irrigate themselves with assurances.

This is not drought management. It is a government discovering that a review meeting can be used as irrigation for a problem that needs water.