Drought Of Governance

As more information trickles out of the drought-hit areas, it is becoming increasingly clear that the distress caused by this natural calamity is disproportionate to its severity. Droughts of such magnitude are fairly common in the arid zones of Rajasthan and Gujarat. In fact, on an average, droughts of varying degree occur once in every three years. But the loss of livestock due to the fodder shortage and misery of the human population for want of drinking water and sources of income has seldom been as high as is feared this time. Even the 1987 drought, which embodied the cumulative effect of four years of deficient rainfall, against two to three years in the present case, did not cause as much agony as this one. The disabilities of the civic administration are obviously to blame for this.

The drought surely has not come suddenly, catching everybody by surprise. This setback started taking shape a good two to three years ago in the form of deficient monsoon precipitation. The early withdrawal of the last monsoon after a dismal performance provided a clear indication of the situation likely to emerge this summer. But premonition of this was lost on the local administration. Even the visit of Central study teams to this area last January did not produce any timely action. Surprisingly, the political system, which at such times is expected to serve as the vital link between the people and government, chose to ignore the ground realities till the media, both local and national, took them up. In Rajasthan, in particular, there has been little evidence of any activity by the state government till the Centre announced its calamity assistance. Lack of funds is the cover the state administration is using to hide its lethargy.

Considering the recurring nature of drought in the area, the state needs to take the initiative and act long before the situation comes to the present pass. The kind of problems created by the shortage of moisture are not difficult to anticipate. In fact, enough experience is available to make fairly precise forecasts as to when scarcities will start to surface. Being prepared to cope with them should not, therefore, be an insurmountable task.

Every time there is a severe drought, demands are made for a reliable "drought code" to act as a guide for tackling the problem. But the lessons learnt are quickly forgotten once the rains come, providing a temporary reprieve. Indeed, what is needed more than even the drought code is a "good weather code". This should contain the guidelines to be followed during years of good rainfall for conserving the available moisture and fodder for the day when the rains fail altogether. The present drought has reconfirmed the importance of age-old methods of saving rain water to meeting domestic and community needs as well as for re-charging the sub-surface aquifers. That is the best means of blunting the adverse impact of a drought. It is not too late even now to convert the present misfortune into an opportunity to clean up, deepen and restore the old water conservation structures by utilising the resources and labour available under the relief programmes.