States have themselves to blame for drought

The next few months, till monsoons arrive, are going to be difficult for the Central government and the ten drought-affected states. All of them will have to ensure that there are no deaths, either of human beings or livestock, no outbreak of violence over water and food, no migration of people and no economic loss to the people.

Currently, many regions of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Telangana are reeling under severe drought.

Maharashtra is one of the worst-affected states. In view of the severe water scarcity in the state, the Bombay High Court has asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to shift all Indian Premier League (IPL) matches outside the state after April 30.

In another instance which underscores the grim drought situation, water is being transported by train from the Krishna river to parched Latur in Maharashtra's Marathwada region. So far, 15 lakh litres of water have been transported by three trains to Latur since April 11.

The heatwave sweeping across several states has compounded the problem. So far, at least 130 people have lost their lives as mercury broke records in April at several places. While 100 people have died in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh because of heatwave conditions, 30 have lost their lives in Odisha to sunstroke.

The temperature touched 44 degrees Celsius in three Telangana districts on April 14. Just a day earlier, Hyderabad broke a 43-year record with mercury reaching the 43 degree Celsius level. The Indian Metorological Department (IMD) has forecast that the temperature could reach an all-time high figure of 45 degree Celsius in April.

The situation is so dismal that cabinet secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha convened a meeting of chief secretaries and other officials of all the drought-affected states in the capital on April 11 to review the situation there and the conditions arising out of rain deficiency.

The secretaries of concerned departments and ministries of the Centre, such as agriculture, rural development, drinking water, animal husbandry, food and public distribution, water resources, home affairs, finance and railways, took part in the deliberations.

The government may have announced several steps but the question is whether the measures are too little, too late. It can surely be said that had the government taken precautionary measures in advance, things would not have come to this.

The incumbent governments, at the Centre or in the states, may not be directly at fault for the drought because it is the result of neglect and faulty policies over a long time. But the situation could certainly have been ameliorated with timely intervention and effective policies.

Similarly, the governments are not to blame for the heatwave conditions. Heatwaves are not a new phenomenon. They are also different from flash floods or earthquakes. They are more or less an annual feature in India, much like the Gangetic floods during monsoon in states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

A timely and effective contingency plan would certainly have prevented the drought-related deaths.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been harping on the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PM's agriculture irrigation scheme) and Soil Health Card Scheme, but apparently they have not been effectively implemented.

It seems India has only been holding meetings with Israel for years together without learning from it the irrigation techniques required in drought conditions. Israel, a water-scarce country, has succssefully beaten drought by using modern agriculture techniques.

India should now adopt the Israeli techniques to beat drought. But it seems our netas and babus will remain entangled in only preparing overambitious plans which hardly provide any succour to the people on the ground.

A national conference on agriculture - Kharif Campaign 2016 - was held in the capital on April 11. Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh, while inaugurating the conference, claimed that the district contingency plans are proving helpful to farmers for sustaining their livelihood and also for conservation and effective utilisation of scanty water resources.

He also appreciated farmers, scientists, extension workers, officials and other stakeholders of the respective states for effectively tackling the drought situation. In this context, he said that the recently launched Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PM's Crop Insurance Scheme) will be a boon to farmers.

Union minister of state for agriculture and farmers' welfare, Sanjeev Kumar Balyan, stressed on the need of construction and rejuvenation of ponds in villages, especially in drought-hit states and said that the government was attaching priority to this important activity by allocation of funds for the purpose. He also emphasised on the development of dairying in drought-prone districts for ensuring livelihood and income of farmers during such calamities.

But these ministers are not saying anything new. Generations of people have grown up hearing such speeches without any effective implementation.

Similarly, the meeting convened by the cabinet secretary too discussed several issues which only appear routine. For instance, the issue of timely initiative on diesel, seed, horticulture and fodder subsidy relief during drought was reviewed.

Other critical issues of providing additional employment of 50 days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Act (MGNREGA) over and above 100 days, preparation of crop contingency plans for districts facing drought and allocation for drought relief were also discussed.

Thereafter, consultations were held with the chief secretaries of all the drought-affected states. This related to the states' specific problems and requirements and views were exchanged on subjects such as drinking water, rural employment, supply of fodder, release of immediate relief assistance. Subsequently, the cabinet secretary directed the Central government departments and ministries to take some steps.

The question is: shouldn't such meetings have been held three to six months earlier so that the help to the drought-affected states could have reached on time? Had that happened, the world would not have had to read stories on water trains and IPL shifting out of Maharashtra owing to drought conditions.