The Telangana Cabinet has decided to seek financial assistance from the Centre to implement contingency measures as the State grapples with an estimated 40 per cent rainfall deficit attributed to the El Niño effect.
The State would request the Centre to send a special team to assess field-level conditions. Its communication would detail the impact of the dry spell on agriculture and allied activities, drinking and irrigation water availability, and rural employment, the group of ministers said in a briefing on the cabinet decisions here on Friday.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy directed departments to prepare contingency plans covering drinking water, irrigation, agriculture and electricity supply, amid warnings that conditions could worsen.
District Collectors have been asked to prevent drinking-water shortages and respond immediately to public complaints. Available water in all projects will be prioritised for drinking purposes.
The Cabinet also directed officials to ensure uninterrupted power supply and remain prepared to augment generation and purchase electricity if necessary. Farmers have been advised to avoid water-intensive crops and shift to dryland crops requiring less irrigation.
Awareness programmes will be conducted across the State on the drought-like conditions, available water resources and precautions to be taken by farmers.
A committee of agricultural experts and scientists, headed by State Planning Board Vice-Chairman Chinna Reddy, will prepare a report on suitable crops, farm-level precautions and livestock protection.
Special review meetings will be held across the erstwhile districts on July 20 under district Ministers. A senior IAS officer will be assigned to each district to coordinate the response.
Dharani probe
The Cabinet also approved the constitution of a Special Enquiry Team to investigate alleged irregularities in land records and transactions conducted through the Dharani portal since its launch on October 29, 2020.
A forensic audit has reportedly identified more than 10,000 suspicious transactions. The investigation will cover registrations, changes to land records and transfers involving agricultural, assigned and government lands.
Digital records, login details, official approvals, changes in land classification and beneficiary information will be scrutinised. The inquiry will also examine the role of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services, the selection of the portal operator, tendering, contract award, system architecture and data-security deficiencies.
The government said stringent action would be taken against those found responsible, irrespective of their position.
Project cost controls
Taking note of cost escalations and delays in public engineering works, the Cabinet approved a high-level committee headed by the Chief Secretary to formulate a unified framework for project appraisal, proposals, land acquisition, tendering, procurement, contract management and bill payments.
The Cabinet also approved amendments to the Telangana Municipalities Act, 2019, to enable the nomination of transgender persons as co-opted members of elected municipal corporations.
Another proposed amendment to the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018, will allow gram panchayats to deposit their funds in nearby nationalised or cooperative banks and post offices instead of the treasury.
High-speed rail hub
The Roads and Buildings Department briefed the Cabinet on the proposed alignments and station locations of three high-speed rail corridors linking Hyderabad with Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai.
The Cabinet decided to establish a rail hub near Shamshabad. The proposed routes are Hyderabad–Pune–Mumbai, Hyderabad–Bengaluru and Hyderabad–Amaravati–Tirupati–Chennai.
It also approved the completion of the Mukteshwar Lift Irrigation Scheme, or Chinna Kaleshwaram. The project envisages lifting 4.5 tmcft of water from the Godavari at Kannepalli to irrigate 45,000 acres in the Manthani constituency.
Published on July 17, 2026
