“It is better to plan early Rabi and take necessary steps to avoid paddy cultivation,” the report said. It also called for a strict “no additional paddy” policy that must be enforced for borewell-dependent and water-stressed mandals. Looking ahead, the report predicted that agriculture in Telangana “will undergo a structural, permanent shift away from water-intensive paddy toward pulses, millets, and oilseeds. InfographPaddy cultivation to take a hitArea projected to plummet 44.90%, from 69.89 lakh acres in 2025 to 38.51 lakh acres in 2026. Productivity per unit area: Paddy: 2.5 tonnes, Horticulture crops: 6 tonnes.