Representative image. Saibhaskar at English Wikipedia, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Why it matters
Farmers deciding what to sow for the winter season now have an official warning that irrigation water will be scarce, and the government is steering them away from paddy. Drinking water, cattle fodder and farm power are all under strain at once, and the drought list sent to the Centre by 31 October decides which mandals qualify for relief.
Telangana drought conditions now cover 358 mandals, the sub-district blocks that run local administration, according to a preliminary count presented on 23 October 2026. On the same day Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy warned that the water and power squeeze linked to El Nino could last until July next year, and asked farmers to plan for a dry season.
How many mandals face Telangana drought conditions
The numbers came at the first meeting of a Cabinet Sub-Committee on Drought and El Nino, chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka in Hyderabad. Chief Secretary Sanjay Jaju told the ministers that 358 mandals showed drought conditions, judged on deficient rainfall and crop sowing that fell below half the normal area, The Hindu reported.
More detail came from the same briefing, as reported by Hyderabad Mail. Of Telangana’s 33 districts, 18 received less rain than normal. Groundwater is low in 324 mandals. Reservoirs with a combined capacity of 470 TMC (thousand million cubic feet, the unit used for big dams) hold only about 170 TMC. That means the state’s big reservoirs are roughly 36% full going into the dry months.
Officials said backup plans had been drawn up for the Singur reservoir, one of the sources of drinking water for Hyderabad, Hyderabad Mail reported. The list of drought mandals is to go to the Centre by 31 October. Each District Collector has already received ₹1 crore in emergency funds, the Chief Secretary said.
What the Cabinet panel asked each department to do
Vikramarka asked for a department-wise action plan with four aims: drinking water, water for irrigation, uninterrupted electricity, and farm support and rural jobs. He told officials to assess drought scientifically, to look beyond the worst-hit areas at mandals where the drought impact is above 20%, and to plan early for strain on the power grid.
Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy asked Collectors to hold weekly review meetings and, given how little water is left, advised farmers against growing paddy, Hyderabad Mail reported. Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao wanted weekly district bulletins on groundwater levels and temperatures so that farmers know the real position.
Panchayat Raj Minister D. Seethakka called for special emergency funds for Collectors and for the project officers of the Integrated Tribal Development Agencies (ITDAs), which run welfare work in tribal areas, and spoke of ₹7,000 crore for drought-related works. Animal Husbandry Minister Vakiti Srihari said fish were being moved from shrinking village ponds to larger reservoirs, and asked for drinking water troughs for cattle in every village.
Why Revanth Reddy wants farmers to switch to rainfed crops
At a separate meeting with ministers and legislators the same day, the chief minister said the reservoirs held “not even 200 tmc feet” and that 15 lakh of the state’s 30 lakh farm pump sets had already dried up, according to The Hindu. In other words, half of Telangana’s borewell pumps have run out of water before winter has even begun.
He asked farmers to grow only rainfed crops and vegetables, which need far less water than paddy, and said drinking water would come first. Revanth Reddy also announced a special employment scheme that will run for four months after Sankranti, the harvest festival in mid-January, until May, so that rural workers have daily wages. Kalajathas, travelling cultural troupes, are to carry the message to villages, and special centres will supply fodder and water for livestock.
A toll-free number will take complaints about drinking water, and the government has named K. Ramakrishna Rao as a special officer for El Nino issues, Hyderabad Mail reported. The chief minister also asked Congress workers to use Rythu Vedikas, the farmer meeting halls built in villages, to explain the Telangana drought situation to farmers, and Deputy Chief Minister Vikramarka suggested farmers be given advice on crops that need less water.
Electricity is the other worry. The chief minister said demand had touched 20,000 megawatts (MW), against no more than 13,000 MW in the same season in undivided Andhra Pradesh, and that growth this year was about 20% compared with the 6.5% experts had projected, Hyderabad Mail reported. He asked people and government offices to use power only for essential needs. The state plans to seek ₹20,000 crore in central assistance, The Hindu reported.
What the opposition said about the El Nino Telangana response
Revanth Reddy said the government had been warning about El Nino for six months and accused the opposition of claiming that Congress had “brought drought” to Telangana. He said El Nino was affecting other states too, including Maharashtra.
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) disagreed. Its leader T. Harish Rao called the Cabinet panel a belated response and demanded a white paper on water stocks and relief funds, Telangana Today reported. If the government knew about El Nino six months ago, he asked, why had water not been lifted from the Godavari and Krishna rivers to fill reservoirs? He sought compensation for affected farmers and crop insurance.
BJP state president N. Ramchander Rao asked the chief minister to call an all-party meeting at once, consult experts and prepare a realistic estimate of farmers’ losses. He said the BJP did not want to politicise El Nino, and that the Centre would assess a detailed damage report before giving help, The Hindu reported.
What El Nino means for the coming months
El Nino is a periodic warming of the Pacific Ocean that tends to weaken India’s monsoon rain. The World Meteorological Organization has already warned this year’s event could be strong, as we reported in our El Nino 2026 explainer. For Telangana, a state where paddy is the main crop and much of it depends on borewells, a dry year affects drinking water, the rabi (winter) sowing and power demand from farm pumps all at once.
The government has said it will try to protect the current kharif (monsoon) crop and help with procurement. The bigger test is the rabi season and the summer that follows, when reservoirs are lowest and temperatures highest.
Frequently asked questions
How many mandals in Telangana face drought?
A preliminary assessment presented on 23 October 2026 found drought conditions in 358 mandals, based on deficient rainfall and crop sowing below 50% of normal.
Which crops should Telangana farmers grow this season?
Chief Minister Revanth Reddy asked farmers to grow only rainfed crops and vegetables, and the irrigation minister advised against paddy because reservoir and groundwater levels are low.
How much water is left in Telangana's reservoirs?
About 170 TMC against a total capacity of 470 TMC, the Chief Secretary said. The chief minister put it at under 200 TMC.
What relief has the Telangana government announced?
₹1 crore in emergency funds for each District Collector, a four-month employment scheme after Sankranti, fodder and water centres for livestock, and a plan to seek ₹20,000 crore from the Centre.