At a time when the Chief Minister and other ministers are praising the rain gods for regular showers and releasing thanksgiving advertisements, the rain shadow areas development department (RSAD) claims that its efforts have paid rich dividends. Impressed by the "work" done by the private aviation company M/s Agni Aviation, the government has decided to continue the cloud seeding operation in the drought-prone areas of the state for another five years, from 2008-09. But no scientific data is available so far that could clearly prove the impact of cloud seeding. The four-year-long cloud seeding programme has failed to identify the exact result it has yielded in a specific area. Though Jawaharlal Nehru Technology University (JNTU) has been bestowed with the responsibility to monitor the impact of the cloud seeding, there were no clear indicators to prove that cloud seeding caused any rain. The state-level monitoring and evaluation committee comprising ministers of RSAD, agriculture and other officials is struggling to pin point its impact in several mandals. "We have gauged the rainfall immediately after the operation. Reports show at least 15 per cent more rain with the operation," said an engineer with JNTU. When the programme started in 2003, it cost just Rs 2.5 crore to execute cloud seeding operation for 61 days. The cost quadrupled to Rs 19.72 crore the very next year. The subsequent years also saw a fall in the number of days of cloud seeding. Even the controversy over the net impact of the cloud seeding continues, the government directed the RSAD to call tenders for five year cloud seeding contract with an estimated cost of Rs 100 crore.