Revanth Reddy calls for action plan to tackle El Nino impact

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has directed officials to prepare a comprehensive action plan to tackle the potential impact of El Nino on the State, warning that failure to anticipate the emerging crisis could lead to severe problems in the coming months.

At a review meeting with senior officials on Saturday (October 10), the Chief Minister discussed the preparedness required to address possible challenges in drinking water supply, irrigation, agriculture and electricity. He called for advance measures to mitigate the impact and asked officials to create awareness among people, from the village-level to the State-level.

Mr. Revanth Reddy said the next eight months would be crucial in managing the potential crisis and stressed the need to involve people at every stage of the response. He directed officials to prepare a robust action plan and ensure that farmers received adequate water to protect standing crops until harvest.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy reviewing preparedness for El Nino on the State with Chief Secretary Sanjay Jaju and others in Hyderabad on Saturday.
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ARRANGEMENT

Warning of a possible worsening of the power situation, he said the government was prepared to spend whatever was necessary to procure electricity required by the State. However, electricity was not readily available in the market, making conservation of available power imperative. He asked officials to explore measures to temporarily defer electricity-dependent activities wherever feasible.

The Chief Minister also called for public awareness campaigns on the possible effects of El Niño through cinema, media, cultural troupes and other communication channels.

Mr. Revanth Reddy said a special meeting with Ministers would be convened shortly to discuss the impact of El Niño and deficient rainfall, assess the difficulties faced by farmers and decide on immediate measures.

He recalled that the State government had passed a resolution in the Assembly seeking assistance from the Centre in view of deficient rainfall in nearly 215 mandals. The government had also sought a special package of ₹20,000 crore and urged the Centre to declare drought-affected mandals and provide adequate financial assistance.

The Chief Minister asked officials to pursue the demand for an additional 50 days of employment under the VB-G RAM G scheme, over and above the 125 days of employment provided for under the programme. He said the State government was ready to provide the additional employment days and that the possibility of constituting an all-party committee would be discussed at the proposed meeting of Ministers.

A war-room and a toll-free helpline should be established to monitor the situation continuously and respond to public concerns, he said. Chief Secretary Sanjay Jaju, Director-General of Police C.V. Anand, Government Adviser Ramakrishna Rao, MP Vem Narender Reddy and other senior officials attended the meeting.