This year, rainfall deficit stands at around 40%. A cabinet sub-committee headed by Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda had earlier found that 161 taluks were severely affected, while 34 were moderately hit.
Credit: PTI file photo
Karnataka hindered by drought manual
Receiving the lowest rainfall in 123 years, Karnataka has declared 195 of its 236 taluks drought-hit. This year, rainfall deficit stands at around 40%. A cabinet sub-committee headed by Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda had earlier found that 161 taluks were severely affected, while 34 were moderately hit. Forty more taluks are likely to be added to the list if the rains continue to play truant.
While the opposition has criticised the government for the delay in declaring taluks as drought-hit, the administration has its hands tied due to flaws in the Manual for Drought Management of 2016 (updated in 2020), issued by the Centre. Based on a Supreme Court order, the Centre had notified the manual, making the rules mandatory while in the past they were in the nature of guidelines. The new policy has been criticised by the states as drought is categorised only as ‘normal’ and ‘severe’, with the ‘moderate’ category being omitted.
This is seen as an attempt by the Centre to limit its responsibility to releasing funds only in case of ‘severe’ drought. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had drawn the Centre’s attention to the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach as it does not capture the regional variations. There is thus a need to revise the manual by incorporating different parameters for the 14 agro-climatic zones of the state.
The manual also does not factor in the erratic distribution of rainfall--a state can declare drought only if there is a deviation of over 60 per cent. Another major drawback is that a meteorological drought is a mandatory precursor to declaring a state drought-hit. Scanty rainfall in the first half of the sowing season often impacts agriculture, leading to an agriculture drought. However, this may not count as a meteorological drought as the monsoon may recover later. The Centre should set right these anomalies in consultation with the states.
Karnataka has developed a robust watershed scheme which should be extended to all districts, as check dams help in conserving soil and recharging groundwater. The cropping pattern needs to be changed to grow what is suitable to a particular region, and non-water-intensive farming methods encouraged.
Attention should also be given to livestock rearing as it provides additional revenue to farmers, especially during the drought months. Karnataka is drought- prone, being the second driest state in the country after Rajasthan, and as such, it is important for the government to take long-term steps to mitigate the problems of farmers.