Telangana’s Water Policy Now Comes With A Bottle Opener

Telangana’s water crisis has finally discovered its place in the government’s hierarchy: somewhere below liquor revenue, but above public embarrassment. Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao reportedly offered the governing philosophy in one neat sentence: “Increasing the price of liquor does not reduce drinking; revenue increases.” Public health, apparently, is now a pricing strategy with a treasury target.

Then came the water question. With farmers, households and irrigation projects facing shortages, Jupally was reported as saying breweries would not be allowed to run short of water, with Srisailam water available “to the extent possible” for beer production. He later clarified that he had not meant Srisailam water would be used to make beer, but referred to drawing water from the Srisailam backwaters into the Dindi project rather than from Yedula. A clarification is useful. It does not make the original political instinct look any better.

Dindi is not a decorative line in a ministerial speech. It was designed to serve 228 fluoride-affected villages and irrigate 3.61 lakh acres across seven Assembly constituencies. So when the government’s message lands as “farmers can wait, breweries must be protected”, the problem is not only wording. It is judgment. The administration has managed to make a serious Telangana water project sound like the supporting infrastructure for a liquor discussion.

And when the public asks why water and power are scarce, the government has its dependable explanation: El Niño. The weather is blamed for irrigation and electricity, while liquor production appears to enjoy a climate policy of its own. BRS leader Harish Rao has understandably seized on the contradiction. But the deeper issue belongs to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and his ministry: after promising a more serious administration, they are still confusing revenue collection with governance. Jupally is speaking like a sales manager defending inventory, not an Excise Minister explaining a public responsibility.

The Congress government is not short of slogans, clarifications or excuses. It is short of a hierarchy in which Telangana’s water comes before its liquor revenue.