After giving free electricity and causing near total depletion of ground water resources in {Andhra Pradesh}, Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhkara Reddy said he was concerned that several districts in the state are facing the grim reality of turning into a desert.

Speaking at a “Green Rally” in Hyderabad organized by the Green Corps to celebrate World Environment Day and create environment awareness among people he cited examples of districts such as Anantapur, Medak, Ranga Reddy, Prakasham, Kadapah, and Mahbubnagar which were becoming dry lands. He wanted large-scale efforts to increase greenery and conserve water. The Green Corps organized similar rallies in all the 23 districts of the state. Reddy suggested that people in these areas do not cultivate water intensive crops like paddy, conserve ground water, harvest rain, and plant only dry crops.

Senior Government officials say that at least five districts of the state were facing the threat of "desertification" and the area of the dry lands in these districts was increasing rapidly.

Nearly 40% of the world is now dry land and 30 to 40% of the population lives in such areas. Annually, 20 million acres of dry land is becomes a desert.

Reddy won elections promising free power to farmers, making peace with the Naxals, and resolving the Telangana issue. With free power, he has bankrupted the state electricity boards and the free power encouraged farmers pump out ground water to grow cash crops such as sugarcanes in these areas and depleted the ground water. His experiment with the Naxal terrorists was a disaster only giving them space to reorganize and spread their tentacles even wider. The Telangana issue is now in back burner.