Project Jaladhara Lifts Annamayya District to 2nd in AP Groundwater Ranking

Tirupati: Annamayya district has climbed from the 25th to second place in state groundwater status within a year. This happened after the launch of Project Jaladhara in the district, under which thousands of tanks and feeder channels have been revived and linked. As a result, groundwater levels have risen by 8.7 metres.

The locally designed initiative has turned the drought-prone region into one of the fastest-improving water-secure zones in Andhra Pradesh, that too without creation of any new irrigation project.

Official data show that while the average groundwater rise across Rayalaseema between May and December 2025 had been 3.6 metres, Annamayya recorded an 8.7-metre increase. Groundwater that lay at a depth of 12.97 metres in November 2024 and 14.45 metres in August 2025 is now available at about 3–8 metres in nearly 90 per cent areas of the district, reviving more than 20,000 defunct borewells and reducing dependence on deep pumping.

District collector Nishant Kumar explained that the project applied river-linking logic at a micro level by connecting surplus and deficit water zones within the district. “When governments plan to interlink rivers from surplus to deficit regions, we applied the same concept locally by linking smaller streams and unused tanks, thereby restoring existing water bodies,” he said.

Sub-basin mapping in Cheyyeru and Pennar systems guided the interconnection of major tanks, enabling diversion of 3.9 TMC of surplus water to deficit mandals, including Rayachoty, Madanapalle, Lakkireddipalle, Thambalapalle, Rajampet and Nandalur. Tanks, such as Pullampet and Konamma Cheruvu, received water after four to five decades. Officials estimate that about 90 per cent of the district has benefited, barring a few rain-shadow pockets.

Collector Nishant said large-scale restoration has been executed through employment-guarantee works. Of about 6,000 defunct feeder channels, 4,000 have been made functional and work on another 1,700 is under way. The district excavated 310 feeder channels, built 214 farm ponds, developed 102 trenches and rejuvenated 532 local streams.

As many as 3,089 tanks have been restored and 962 minor irrigation tanks filled fully, with machinery deployed at 163 critical blockages.

Essentially, rainfall from late-2025 cyclones had been captured and routed through the restored network, raising surface storage from 13.15 TMC in August 2025 to 48.86 TMC by December. Satellite analysis by the Andhra Pradesh Space Applications Centre shows that moderate vegetation cover in the district increased by 5.12 lakh acres, water-spread area by 3,927 acres and dense vegetation by about 400 acres after tanks got filled.

Improved groundwater has reduced electricity use by the agricultural sector. Power consumption by 1.25 lakh irrigation pump sets has fallen by 30–40 per cent, saving about 12.54 lakh units daily between August and November 2025, amounting to Rs 95.71 crore.

“This saving has come even though farm power connections have increased from 1.16 lakh to 1.48 lakh, showing reduced pumping due to higher groundwater availability”, the collector underlined.

With the water availability improving, horticulture area has expanded by about 20,000 hectares in a year to 85,760 hectares, generating an additional Rs 1,634 crore by December 2025. Distribution of 10,000 milch animals increased milk output by about one lakh litres a day, adding Rs 100–120 crore.

Officials estimate that Project Jaladhara will boost the district economy by Rs 1,100–1,170 crore this year through gains in horticulture, dairy, fisheries and energy savings. “By scientifically linking water bodies and optimising rainfall, Annamayya district has secured water for its present and future needs”, Nishant Kumar emphasised.