Action plan to ameliorate impact of drought in Bangaru Telangana

​Drought in the State

The State constituted a Committee to identify the drought affected Mandals by considering the norms of rainfall deficiency, reduction in yield, area, dry spells, in addition to the Central government norms of Normalised Vegetation Difference Index (NDVI) and Moisture Adequacy Index (MAI), and the Committee recommended for declaration of 231 Mandals as drought affected Mandals during Kharif, 2015.

Table 3.3: District- wise Drought Affected Mandals

Sl. No	District	Mandals
1	Mahabubnagar	64
2	Medak	46
3	Nizamabad	36
4	Ranga Reddy	33
5	Nalgonda	22
6	Karimnagar	19
7	Warangal	11
	Total	231

Action Plan to Ameliorate Impact of Drought:

1. State Government prepared an action plan for minimizing the adverse impact of the drought in the state. In order to undertake these activities, the State Government (through Drought Memorandum) requested the Government of India for the assistance of Rs. 2515.03 crore. In response, the High-Level Committee constituted by the Government of India assistance of Rs. 791 crore from the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) in respect of drought in Telangana.
2. Government proposes to distribute input subsidy to drought affected farmers. In order to assess the crop damages and to ensure that input subsidy reaches the eligible, the State Government constitute joint teams consisting of Revenue and Agriculture officials to enumerate crop damages and prepare a list of beneficiaries. It is estimated that an amount of Rs. 863 crore is required towards input subsidy as per Government of India norms of assistance for different crops, for about 20.9 lakh farmers in the State.
3. Horticultural crops such as fruit plantation, vegetable crops were affected in five districts due to drought. Though horticulture crops require less quantity of water as compared to field crops, water stress conditions affected the production capacity of trees leading to production losses. It is estimated that about 6,830 hectares crop was damaged by more than 33 percent due to drought. It is proposed to assist 7,136 small and marginal farmers with input subsidy of Rs. 9.65 crore.
4. Drought situation resulted in less availability of fodder for the livestock leading to nutritional deficiencies. Effective steps have been taken to save the livestock from production loss and mortality by imitating prompt action providing necessary fodder, feeds, and intensive health cover. It is proposed to organise cattle camps in 231 droughts declared Mandals of Telangana. The affected cattle will be provided fodder, feed, mineral mixture and medicine besides drinking water. It is proposed to provide an amount of Rs. 2.4 crore for transporting rice straw or maize or sorghum stovers from surplus areas by needy farmers in drought affected Mandals.
5. There are about 2 lakh fishermen who are unable to earn their livelihood due to reduced water spread area. It is proposed to provide nets and financial assistance to drought-hit fishermen.
6. The Government of India issued instructions providing an additional 50 days of wage employment under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGA) in the drought affected Mandals as relief employment.

Landholding Pattern in Telangana

The land resource is a vital input for agriculture. Average landholding in Telangana in 2010-11 is 1.12 hectares (2.8 acres) as against the all India average of 1.16 hectares. The increase in population has put pressure, leading to fragmentation of landholdings. As shown in the Table3.4, the share of marginal and small landholdings constitute about 86 percent of total landholdings in Telangana State in 2010-11, while their share in the total area is around 55 percent. About 14 percent of total landholdings in the State are medium, ranging between 2 to 10 hectares, whereas their share in the total area is 40.5 percent. District-wise analysis shows that average landholding size is less than one hectare in Nizamabad, Karimnagar, and Medak districts showing highly skewed land distribution.

Table 3.4: Percentage Distribution of Landholding and Area in Telangana 2010-11

SL. No.	District	Marginal (Upto 1.0 Hect)		Small ( 1.0 - 2.0 Hect)		Medium ( 2.0 - 10.0 Hect)		Large ( 10.0 & above)		Average Landholding Size
		No	Area	No	Area	No	Area	No	Area
1	Adilabad	49.8%	16.9%	27.7%	28.3%	22.1%	50.1%	0.4%	4.8%	1.40
2	Nizamabad	67.5%	33.9%	23.8%	36.1%	8.6%	28.5%	0.1%	1.5%	0.92
3	Karimnagar	67.5%	30.9%	21.9%	31.8%	10.5%	34.7%	0.2%	2.6%	0.96
4	Medak	67.9%	29.9%	21.7%	31.3%	10.0%	34.4%	0.3%	4.4%	0.97
5	Hyderabad	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.00
6	Rangareddy	58.3%	23.5%	25.7%	29.4%	15.6%	42.0%	0.4%	5.1%	1.22
7	Mahabubnagar	57.9%	22.0%	25.4%	29.5%	16.3%	44.0%	0.4%	4.5%	1.23
8	Nalgonda	58.8%	23.1%	25.3%	29.9%	15.6%	43.4%	0.3%	3.6%	1.19
9	Warangal	67.1%	28.6%	21.4%	29.7%	11.2%	37.0%	0.3%	4.7%	1.01
10	Khammam	62.2%	25.6%	22.6%	27.6%	14.9%	42.6%	0.3%	4.3%	1.14
Total		62.0%	25.3%	23.9%	30.2%	13.9%	40.5%	0.3%	4.0%	1.12

Source: Statistical Abstract of Telangana-2015, DES, Government of Telangana

As compared with all India level, landholding pattern in Telangana is more evenly distributed. While 85 percent of total landholdings at all-India are marginal and small landholdings, farmers possess only 44 percent of the total land as against, 86 percent of total landholdings in Telangana are marginal and small possessing 55 percent of total landholdings (see Figure 3.5).

G.Rajendera Kumar