| IRRIGATION |
Now, let’s move on to the most controversial irrigation issue. You will
see allegation after allegation by the separatists on how the other regions are
misappropriating the projects while denying Nizam Telangana its rightful
access to its own waters. I will address some of those issues in a bit, but let’s
first look at the macro numbers and how the irrigation sector performed since
the state’s formation.
Table 4 provides the gross area irrigated by region. Clearly, since the
formation of the integrated state of Andhra Pradesh, the irrigation sector
has developed the most in the Nizam Telangana region. While the Telangana
region experienced a net growth of 170% ever since the state formation, Kosta
and Rayalaseema experienced a relatively modest growth of 53% and 64%.
Again, percentages can sometimes be misleading. Therefore, let’s look at the net incremental area brought under irrigation. Since the formation of the
state, in Kosta, about 10 lakh additional hectares of land has been brought
under irrigation, whereas in Telangana, 14 lakh hectares of new area came
under irrigation.
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GROSS AREA IRRIGATED IN HECTARES (Table 4)
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The question that might cross one’s mind when looking at the irrigation
data is whether the improvements in irrigated area translate into increased
output in agriculture, which is money in the farmer’s pocket.
In a study done by Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University, the Kosta
region recorded 107% growth in agriculture production between 1956 and
1991, whereas the Nizam Telangana region recorded a 244% growth. Even in
terms of additional tonnage since the state formation, Telangana leads Kosta.
Table 5 provides these details.
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