‘Floods and droughts are opportunities, not disasters’

Dr S. Janakarajan , former Professor of the Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS), Chennai, specialises in the areas of water, environment and climate change. He is the convener of the Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue for the Palar river basin and an initiator of the “Cauvery Family”, a group of like-minded farmers and academics from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. He spoke to Frontline on the present water crisis in Chennai. Excerpts:

The present drought situation in Tamil Nadu, especially Chennai, paints a serious picture. How would you characterise it?

The current drought situation in Tamil Nadu has risen because of a lack of preparedness. This could have been easily mitigated had there been a robust action programme. Our approach to droughts is one of ad hoc crisis and risk management. What we encounter in Chennai, and Tamil Nadu in general, is accumulated stress. If the present response of the government continues, the crisis will deepen further in the years to come.

Can you explain the statement that the reason for the current drought in Tamil Nadu is a lack of preparedness?

Drought and flood are regular monsoon features. There were many droughts and floods in the past. The key question is whether the State is prepared to handle the good and bad rainfall years. We have no control over the monsoons and weather conditions. But we should be prepared to face both these situations. One needs to have an integrated view of droughts and floods. Saving water during floods will save us from droughts. In 2015, Tamil Nadu received 50 per cent more rainfall compared to the average of 945 mm. Chennai city’s neighbouring districts such as Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram [these districts are going to be a part of the new Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA) soon] received very high rainfall.

The Cooum and the Adayar rivers carried over 100,000 cusecs of water during the peak flood period. Reportedly, something like 300 tmc ft of water was let into the sea during this period through Chennai’s waterways. We could have saved at least half of this water in the 4,100 irrigation tanks located in Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts and in Arakkonam taluk of Vellore district.

Another example is the loss of over 180 tmc ft of water in the Cauvery in the year 2018, immediately after the delta faced the “severest” drought. This kind of sequence of extreme events speaks very poorly of the State’s lethargic attitude towards water conservation.

Is the present drought in Chennai the severest in 100 years?

I don’t think so. Even in this “severest drought year” Chennai and its neighbourhood received around 810 mm of rainfall. What happened to that rainfall? Just compare this with the rainfall in other States such as Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Telangana, and so on. A rainfall of 810 mm is almost their average rainfall or even less.

You must remember that droughts are defined on the basis of rainfall figures. If an area receives 25 per cent less than its historical average, it is considered a drought. If it receives 25-50 per cent less rainfall, it is considered a moderate drought. If the shortfall is more than 50 per cent then it is considered a severe drought. Therefore, even by this standard, Chennai’s drought (including its neighbouring districts) is not severe but moderate given its historical average figure of over 1,350 mm.

What do you think the government should do in future?

The urban world, metro cities such as Chennai in particular, need to understand the following three issues: the rainfall pattern and characteristics of the monsoon; upstream and downstream watersheds; and ecology and drainage systems.

We should learn to understand and respect the changing characteristics of the monsoons and adapt accordingly. Therefore, we should conserve water whenever there is rainfall. In 2019, when all the reservoirs are literally dry, we should have desilted them so that even with a couple of spells of rainfall water can be stored. But, unfortunately, we are not ready. For me, floods and droughts are opportunities, not disasters.

Could you suggest any specific strategies?

It is important for us to acknowledge that there is a lack of comprehensive database on disasters and extreme events. It is important to record human and animal losses, livelihood losses the value of property lost, analyse each disaster and prepare a report of disaster preparedness and the lessons learnt. But, unfortunately, one has to depend on newspaper reports and analyses and no state agency seems to be willing to take responsibility for this.

We need to have a comprehensive report on post-disaster analysis and the people’s struggle for recovery. In 2004-05, three disasters struck: the tsunami and the floods. These were preceded by continuous drought.

Have we learnt any lessons from these continuous/cyclical occurrences of droughts and floods?

In the absence of these, it is a real challenge to make the city and the State climate- and disaster-resilient.

The State should immediately work on formulating comprehensive and actionable policy documents on: (a) climate emergency; (b) water conservation (both surface and groundwater); and (c) disaster management and disaster risk reduction strategies.

Most importantly, these policies should be backed by legislation and implemented straightaway. Otherwise, it is going to be very difficult to save the State, its economy, and the people from the accumulated stress that is already being witnessed.