<p>There is a spectre of drought haunting about half the geographical area of the country, posing serious threat to the livelihood of millions of farmers and to the food security and the larger economy of the country. According to the Drought Early Warning System of IIT, Gandhinagar, 40% of the country’s area is drought-affected and severe to exceptional drought conditions exist in about half of this area. More than 100 districts have been declared drought-hit and most of them are in the South. The situation is likely to get worse if the monsoon is delayed as predicted and happens to be below normal. Even if the overall rainfall is near normal, its distribution is likely to be important. Most drought-affected areas received deficient rainfall in the last three years. The El Nino phenomenon may also impact the monsoon adversely in June and July. </p>.<p>Dealing with the drought situation is the first major challenge for the Narendra Modi government, just sworn in for a second term. State governments will have a bigger role and responsibility as most of the remedial and mitigation efforts will have to be directly undertaken by them. There were serious inadequacies and shortcomings in their work in previous years, and the people in the affected areas have bitterly complained about them. Droughts can no longer be considered natural disasters but are mostly the result of failures of policy and official action. Management of water is at the root of all drought prevention and mitigation efforts, but the country has badly failed in this all these years. The immediate requirements in a drought situation are to help farmers with their urgent needs, provide drinking water to the general population and ensure that normal life and economic activities are least affected. These are most basic, and even when governments claim that they are doing their best, that falls much short of what is needed. </p>.<p>Longer-term plans for water management have hardly received attention. Only about 35% of the country’s cultivated area has access to irrigation. The rest of the area has to depend on rain or ground water which is depleting fast. About 75% of the annual rainfall is lost or wasted and there is only very limited reservoir storage capacity. Though there is much talk about rainwater harvesting, the results are disappointing. Crop planning is poor, and farmers are not sufficiently educated about this. There is need for action in all these areas if the country has to be drought-proofed, especially with climate change likely to make the situation worse than it already is. It is time to have a ministry specially for water both at the Centre and in the states. </p>
<p>There is a spectre of drought haunting about half the geographical area of the country, posing serious threat to the livelihood of millions of farmers and to the food security and the larger economy of the country. According to the Drought Early Warning System of IIT, Gandhinagar, 40% of the country’s area is drought-affected and severe to exceptional drought conditions exist in about half of this area. More than 100 districts have been declared drought-hit and most of them are in the South. The situation is likely to get worse if the monsoon is delayed as predicted and happens to be below normal. Even if the overall rainfall is near normal, its distribution is likely to be important. Most drought-affected areas received deficient rainfall in the last three years. The El Nino phenomenon may also impact the monsoon adversely in June and July. </p>.<p>Dealing with the drought situation is the first major challenge for the Narendra Modi government, just sworn in for a second term. State governments will have a bigger role and responsibility as most of the remedial and mitigation efforts will have to be directly undertaken by them. There were serious inadequacies and shortcomings in their work in previous years, and the people in the affected areas have bitterly complained about them. Droughts can no longer be considered natural disasters but are mostly the result of failures of policy and official action. Management of water is at the root of all drought prevention and mitigation efforts, but the country has badly failed in this all these years. The immediate requirements in a drought situation are to help farmers with their urgent needs, provide drinking water to the general population and ensure that normal life and economic activities are least affected. These are most basic, and even when governments claim that they are doing their best, that falls much short of what is needed. </p>.<p>Longer-term plans for water management have hardly received attention. Only about 35% of the country’s cultivated area has access to irrigation. The rest of the area has to depend on rain or ground water which is depleting fast. About 75% of the annual rainfall is lost or wasted and there is only very limited reservoir storage capacity. Though there is much talk about rainwater harvesting, the results are disappointing. Crop planning is poor, and farmers are not sufficiently educated about this. There is need for action in all these areas if the country has to be drought-proofed, especially with climate change likely to make the situation worse than it already is. It is time to have a ministry specially for water both at the Centre and in the states. </p>
