Drought Politics Must Be Replaced With Governance of Solutions

Politicians should move beyond the usual rhetoric on drought, writes Rajya Sabha MP, Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

In Uttar Kannada alone, 197 villages are facing water scarcity; staples including the major crop paddy, have been damaged due to scarcity of water. (Photo: PTI/Altered by The Quint)

The drought situation in the country is a humanitarian crisis affecting over 33 crore Indians in over 13 states – almost one-quarter of our population. I have been in Parliament for 10 years now and I have heard, almost every year, a session to discuss the drought conditions and the serious suffering of our farmers and rural communities around our country.

With great respect, I say this – I have heard many similar speeches being made every year on droughts, and it is not surprising that again this year, we were making points that have been made many, many times over the last several years.

I say this with all seriousness – it seems to me that we are all being mute spectators to this annual spectacle, an annual tragedy that is playing out every year. We believe we have three seasons – summer, monsoon and winter, but most of India sees this as summer, drought, monsoon and winter.

A farmer walks his calf on a parched lake bed at drought-hit Hukunda near Chikmagalur in Karnataka on Thursday. (Photo: PTI)

Water Crisis

I say this as someone who is not an expert on the subject, but I believe it is my responsibility to speak - We must move beyond the rhetoric and politics of drought to governance of solutions.  It is in that context that I make the following two points:

• We must address the current crisis proactively and completely.
  
• We must develop a long-term strategy and medium-term strategy to this issue of water to ensure that at some point, we do not remain mute spectators to this suffering year after year.
  

I come from Karnataka, and I would like to highlight the crisis unfolding in the state. Districts of North Karnataka – Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Bidar, Raichur, Vijayapura, Bagalkot and Uttar Kannada, among others, are reeling under harsh drought conditions. In Uttar Kannada alone, 197 villages are facing water scarcity; staples including the major crop paddy, have been damaged due to the drought situation. More importantly, people are selling away their cattle and property at throwaway prices and are migrating.  Farmers are leaving homes for long periods and not returning, even at the risk of losing their farmlands. These have very medium-term cascading effects on the overall economy of the region.

The drought and water situation in Karnataka has only worsened in the last 8 weeks, after the central team’s survey. The government must consider immediate special financial assistance for providing water and fodder to the drought-hit districts, not only in Karnataka but in all the 13 affected states.

Water Management

The government must address this issue with a medium to long-term strategy, we must create a National Water Management Strategy. A comprehensive strategy for improved management of drought in India should be our priority.

While train loads of water could bring immediate relief – better investment in rural infrastructure, a Central Water Management policy, focus on climate change and extensive use of technology, is urgently required.

With satellite image and other technology tools, we can predict droughts and plan for this in advance. Innovative water conservation methods such as those adopted in Israel – like desalination of sea water for coastal areas – should also be studied and implemented to meet such crisis in the future.

The Centre should look upon the current crisis as a national calamity. It should create a special task force to initiate urgent and viable steps which can be enforced in collaboration with State Governments to support an anguished one-fourth of India that looks to the rest us in their time of utmost need.

(The writer is a Rajya Sabha MP. These are excerpts from his speech in Parliament)

Also Read:
Faces of Marathwada Drought and a ‘Peepli Live’ Moment in Latur
In Drought-Hit Marathwada, Fodder Camps Come to Animals’ Rescue