Groundwater levels fall sharply across Rayalaseema districts
Groundwater levels in Rayalaseema have fallen by nearly 15 to 20 metres in several areas, with Chittoor recording the steepest drop at around 26 metres. Officials cite poor rainfall, excessive usage and high temperatures. Borewells have dried up in Alur, Adoni and Yemmiganur mandals and in parts of Kadapa and Annamayya districts. Estimates put Rayalaseema's borewells at over 10 lakh. Kadapa groundwater deputy director Murali said levels there are not alarming.
Source
Kurnool — agriculture · read the original report ↗
Desk check · compared with the source
What the desk checked (5)
- Water tables in several Rayalaseema areas have fallen by nearly 15-20 metres. — Figure appears in source, attributed generally to reporting/officials; no dataset cited.
- Chittoor has the steepest fall, with groundwater at around 26 metres; table lists 26-28 m for Chittoor and 25-30 m for Anantapur. — Figures appear in source data table; internally consistent.
- Rayalaseema has over 10 lakh borewells, Anantapur alone more than three lakh, Sri Sathya Sai about 1.5 lakh, Kurnool about 1.7 lakh. — Presented in source as estimates, no agency named.
- Farmer Shivashankar Reddy of Veerapunayunipalle drilled a 350-foot borewell for his groundnut crop with minimal water drawn. — Attributed to a named farmer in the source.
- YSR Kadapa groundwater deputy director Murali says levels in the district are not alarming and are better than last year. — Attributed to a named official; contrasts with other claims in the same report.
Analysts’ view opinion
This is not just a weather story — it is a cost shock that rewrites the income arithmetic of Rayalaseema farm households. Water tables falling 15–20 metres, and to around 26 metres in Chittoor, means water can only be reached by drilling deeper; when 350-foot and even 500-foot borewells yield little or nothing, that capital is simply lost. With groundnut, paddy, mango, papaya and sapota in flowering and growth stages, the damage will not stop at one crop — it flows into debt, rural purchasing power and farm employment.
- Deeper bores, stronger motors and more power drawn mean higher input costs without higher yields, which eats directly into farm margins.
- In a region with over 10 lakh borewells — more than three lakh in Anantapur alone — each farmer drilling deeper is individually rational but collectively depletes the shared resource faster.
- Because groundnut, mango and sapota are at critical stages, a water shortfall can pass beyond farm losses into market arrivals and local price pressure.
- Damage to orchard crops such as mango, sapota and papaya is multi-year in nature, unlike annual crops that can recover next season.
- On the other side, the YSR Kadapa groundwater deputy director Murali says levels there are not alarming and are relatively better than last year, suggesting the stress is uneven across the region.
What to watch — Whether farmers can hold crops to the end of April is the pivot — watch drilling costs, pressure on farm credit, and the public cost of tankers and drinking-water repairs.
The story puts no value on losses, affected acreage, drilling costs or price effects, and the gap between official assessments and farmers' accounts remains unresolved.
Deep dive
Research brief · 8 facts · 4 dates · exam-readyThe brief
Context
Rayalaseema, the semi-arid southern region of Andhra Pradesh comprising districts such as Kurnool, Nandyal, Anantapur, Sri Sathya Sai, YSR Kadapa, Annamayya and Chittoor, depends heavily on borewell irrigation because of chronically low and erratic rainfall. Officials report that groundwater tables in the region have dropped sharply this year, by nearly 15 to 20 metres in several areas, due to inadequate rainfall, excessive extraction and a sudden rise in temperatures. Farmers growing groundnut, paddy, papaya, mango and sapota, now in the flowering and growth stages, are drilling deeper borewells to save standing crops, while drinking water supply management is also becoming difficult.
Key facts
- Water tables in several parts of Rayalaseema have fallen by nearly 15 to 20 metres, hitting agriculture and drinking water supply.
- Chittoor has recorded the steepest fall, with groundwater levels dropping to around 26 metres (district average 26-28 metres).
- District average groundwater depths: Kurnool 11-12 m, Nandyal 12-15 m, YSR Kadapa 14-16 m, Chittoor 26-28 m, Anantapur 25-30 m.
- Rayalaseema is estimated to have over 10 lakh borewells; Anantapur alone accounts for more than three lakh.
- Kurnool district has about 1.7 lakh borewells and Sri Sathya Sai district around 1.5 lakh; other districts each have over one lakh.
- Borewells have gone dry in Alur, Adoni and Yemmiganur mandals (Kurnool), Pulivendula and Jammalamadugu (YSR Kadapa) and parts of Rayachoti in Annamayya district.
- Farmer Shivashankar Reddy of Veerapunayunipalle, Kadapa, drilled a borewell to 350 feet for his groundnut crop but drew only minimal water.
- In Adoni and Yemmiganur, farmers say even drilling up to 500 feet is not yielding water.
Timeline
- Last year (reference point)YSR Kadapa groundwater levels were, per the deputy director, worse than the current year's relatively better levels.
- This year's monsoon/rain seasonInadequate rainfall recorded across Rayalaseema, reducing groundwater recharge.
- Current period (as reported)Sudden rise in temperatures and prolonged dry conditions cause rapid depletion; borewells dry up in multiple mandals.
- Till end of April (immediate need)Farmers say they must somehow sustain standing crops in flowering and growth stages until end of April.
Who has a stake
- Rayalaseema farmers (Kurnool, Nandyal, YSR Kadapa, Annamayya, Chittoor) — Risk of heavy crop losses in groundnut, paddy, papaya, mango and sapota now in flowering and growth stages.
- Groundwater department, YSR Kadapa (deputy director Murali) — Monitoring and assessing depletion; maintains district levels are not at an alarming stage.
- Drinking water supply authorities — Managing household supply as water tables fall by 15-20 metres in several areas.
- Borewell-dependent households in Alur, Adoni, Yemmiganur, Pulivendula, Jammalamadugu, Rayachoti, Punganur, Palamaner — Dried-up borewells and motors failing to draw water; rising cost of deeper drilling.
- Farmers like Doneppa (Pathikonda, Kurnool) and Shivashankar Reddy (Kadapa) — Spending on deeper borewells with minimal yield; uncertain survival of standing crops.
Why it matters
Rayalaseema's agriculture rests almost entirely on over 10 lakh borewells, so a 15-20 metre fall in water tables directly threatens standing crops and drinking water in a season when horticulture and groundnut are at their most water-sensitive stages. The combination of poor rainfall, drying tanks and unchecked deep drilling shows a classic groundwater commons problem where each farmer's deeper borewell worsens the shared aquifer.
UPSC angle
Prelims pointers
- Rayalaseema districts named in the report: Kurnool, Nandyal, Anantapur, Sri Sathya Sai, YSR Kadapa, Annamayya and Chittoor.
- Chittoor records the deepest groundwater level in Rayalaseema at 26-28 metres; Anantapur 25-30 metres.
- Anantapur has the highest borewell concentration in Rayalaseema - over three lakh of the region's 10 lakh-plus borewells.
- Mandals with dried borewells: Alur, Adoni, Yemmiganur (Kurnool); Pulivendula, Jammalamadugu (YSR Kadapa); Rayachoti area (Annamayya).
- Crops at risk in the flowering/growth stage: groundnut, paddy, papaya, mango and sapota.
- Reasons cited by officials: inadequate rainfall, excessive water usage, sudden rise in temperatures and prolonged dry conditions.
Mains framing
The sharp fall of groundwater tables in Rayalaseema - 15 to 20 metres in several areas and up to 26-28 metres in Chittoor - illustrates how a semi-arid region has substituted surface irrigation with unregulated borewell extraction. The immediate causes cited by officials are inadequate rainfall this year, excessive water usage and a sudden rise in temperatures; farmers additionally point to drying tanks and excessive drilling. The consequences are visible in two ways: dried-up borewells in mandals like Alur, Adoni, Yemmiganur, Pulivendula and Jammalamadugu where even 350-500 feet of drilling yields little water, and the risk of heavy losses in groundnut, paddy, papaya, mango and sapota that are in flowering and growth stages. Because more than 10 lakh borewells compete for the same aquifer - over three lakh in Anantapur alone - individual deepening of wells raises private costs while further depleting a shared resource. The way forward suggested by the situation on the ground is restoration of tanks and recharge structures, moderation of extraction and crop-water demand, and closer official monitoring of district-wise water tables, while noting the Kadapa groundwater department's view that the district's levels remain better than last year and not alarming - indicating that responses must be calibrated district by district rather than uniformly.
Key terms
- Groundwater level / water table
- The depth below ground at which water is available in an aquifer; in Rayalaseema it now ranges from 11-12 metres in Kurnool to 25-30 metres in Anantapur.
- Rayalaseema
- The drought-prone southern region of Andhra Pradesh covering Kurnool, Nandyal, Anantapur, Sri Sathya Sai, YSR Kadapa, Annamayya and Chittoor districts.
- Borewell
- A deep drilled well fitted with a motor to extract groundwater; Rayalaseema has over 10 lakh of them per estimates in the report.
- Groundwater Department (deputy director)
- The state agency office that monitors district groundwater levels; YSR Kadapa's deputy director Murali says local levels are not alarming.
- Mandal
- An administrative sub-district unit in Andhra Pradesh; Alur, Adoni and Yemmiganur are mandals of Kurnool district where borewells have dried up.
Practice questions
- Examine the causes and consequences of the sharp fall in groundwater levels in Rayalaseema, and suggest measures to make borewell-dependent agriculture more sustainable.
- Why does deeper drilling of borewells by individual farmers fail to solve water scarcity in a region like Rayalaseema? Discuss with reference to the shared nature of aquifers.
- Discuss how inadequate rainfall, rising temperatures and drying tanks interact to accelerate groundwater depletion in semi-arid regions of India.
Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.