Drought situation alarming in Maharashtra

In October 2018 Maharashtra declared drought in 151 out of 355 talukas. Since then the situation has gradually got worse. While it is not yet like the catastrophic drought of 1972 when the State saw massive migration of people to cities, it is indeed a situation that requires urgent attention. In more than 21,000 villages across the State people have to depend on water tankers for their everyday needs. At the same time last year, 937 tankers were deployed across the state. This year the number is 4,774. Tanker services are irregular and in many areas the water supplied is of questionable quality on account of an increase in groundwater pollution. The Centre has so far allocated Rs.4,714 crore for drought relief, but the criticism is that this money is being diverted not in a need-based manner but rather on political affiliations. “Even the BJP’s partner [the Shiv Sena] is getting poor preference” alleged a political source. The opposition has hammered away at the ruling coalition saying it has not taken drought mitigation measures. Dry irrigation canals and tanks, poor sowing in the rabi season, a wilting rabi jowar crop and an impoverished harvest of soybean are just some of the travails of farmers. The Nationalist Congress Party’s Sharad Pawar alleged that 95 per cent of farmers had not received the promised benefits of the Centre’s crop insurance scheme. This shreds Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ promise to farmers, at a campaign rally in Parbhani district during the Lok Sabha election, that “if even one rupee that is owed to one farmer has not been paid, then the government will pay that money and we will recover it from the insurance company”. This was said six days before Parbhani voted.  

In an apparent effort at damage control, the government responded by initiating works under the Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS). Fadnavis also urged farmers to participate in water conservation schemes and directed the local administration to desilt tanks and ponds under the “Gaalmukta Dharan-Gaalyukta Shivar” (silt-free dams and silt-filled farms) scheme. Ground reports say the measures are inadequate for the current situation. There are allegations that money and manpower have been diverted for the Lok Sabha election by the government rather than focusing on drought assistance and mitigation.

Reservoirs dry

The most threatening aspect of this drought so far is the condition of many of the State’s reservoirs. The Water Conservation Department has said that so far 26 reservoirs have reached dead storage—the level at which sediments are visible and there is not enough water  to be released. The worst hit is Marathwada. The water storage in Aurangabad division’s Paithan, Manjara, Majalgaon, Yeldari, Siddeshwar, Lower Terna, Sina Kolegaon and Lower Dudna dams is at an average of 0.43 per cent this year as opposed to last year’s 23.44 per cent. The rest of the State does not fare much better. The 3,267 large, medium and small reservoirs of the State had about 18 per cent live storage compared with about 29 per cent during the same time last year. This is the lowest in the last decade. While the opposition hurls accusations and the ruling coalition defends itself, the water situation in rural Maharashtra has only deteriorated. “The Vidhan Sabha elections have not yet been declared, so no one takes this seriously, but people have long memories,” said a source in the Congress. And if the rains are delayed or scanty then crops like pulses, groundnut, cotton, maize and lemon will suffer, severely affecting the lives of an estimated 82 lakh farmers in the State.