Telangana is one of the top five states in India when it comes to using water bodies for irrigation. The Union Ministry of Jalashakti conducted the first Water Body Census and found that Telangana has 64,056 water bodies, with most of them being ponds. 98.5% of these water bodies are in rural areas, while the remaining are in urban areas.
The Census also found that 80.5% of the water bodies are owned by the public, while the rest are privately owned. In Telangana, 17.3% of water bodies are located in drought-prone areas, 10.6% are in tribal areas and 72.1% are in flood-prone areas, naxal-affected and other areas.
Out of the total number of water bodies, 80.8% are being used, while the remaining have dried up or been destroyed beyond repair. The state has 10,170 natural and 53,886 man-made water bodies, with 96.2% of them located in rural areas. 98.9% of the man-made water bodies are also located in rural areas.
The Census found that 64.7% of water bodies were being used and 32.9% of water bodies met the requirement of two to five cities or towns. However, 3,032 water bodies have been encroached upon, with 50.8% being ponds and the rest being tanks, lakes, reservoirs, water conservation schemes and percolation tanks and check dams. The encroachment percentage ranges from 25% to 75%.
