‘Four Waters’ Gets Maharashtra Governor’s Nod

During the hour-long meeting, Reddy explained how this low-cost model had shown success in Telangana and Rajasthan, enabling villages to cultivate up to three crops a year even in drought-prone conditions. He emphasised that, unlike other watershed programmes, this method followed a rigorous scientific approach that improves water availability through integrated management of rainwater, groundwater, surface water and soil moisture.

Reddy urged the Governor to initiate a pilot project in Maharashtra. The Governor responded positively and assured that a pilot would be launched in one taluka, in collaboration with a state agricultural university and with support from the Trust. Reddy also submitted a detailed note and a copy of the 2016 Channa Reddy Memorial Lecture delivered by Hanumanth Rao.

Governor Radhakrishnan praised the Trust’s efforts and called the concept highly beneficial for farmers. His secretary, Dr Prashanth Narnaware, IAS, was directed to follow up on the proposal.

First introduced in Telangana in 2001 at a cost of just Rs 5,000 per acre, the Four Waters model transformed the village of Gottigaripalli near Zaheerabad, which continues to have year-round water availability even after two decades. Between 2014 and 2018, the Rajasthan government adopted the model across all 33 districts, also reporting encouraging results.
The Trust recently organised a national symposium in collaboration with P.J. Telangana Agricultural University. The event was attended by officials from several states, including Maharashtra.