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Opposition to Manual for Drought Management
Why in news
- A demand has been raised by the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) for scraping the Manual for Drought Management, 2016.
- The Manual has changed the way that droughts are declared and the circumstances under which Central help can be sought by affected States.
More in news
- This monsoon season over half the country’s land area still faces rainfall deficits of more than 20% as per India Meteorological Department latest data.
- The New parameters as per Manual for Drought Management 2016 -
- States are required to assess conditions using five indicators:
(1) Rainfall
(2) Agriculture
(3) Soil moisture
(4) Hydrology
(6) Crop health.
- The Manual allows States to request for support from the National Disaster Response Fund if a drought is declared as “severe”.
- This can only happen if three impact indicators (apart from rainfall) fall into the “severe” category.
Geographical Extent of Drought
- Saurashtra and Kutch are the worst affected region, with a 60% deficit as of June 16, followed by Gangetic West Bengal, parts of Rajasthan, Haryana and Kerala.
- Across the Deccan peninsula — in Marathwada, Vidarbha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu — the deficits hover in the 30-35% range.
Concerns raised by AIKS
- The Sabha has stated that the areas in which the deficit may not be high now, the rain has come late, affecting the sowing and growing of crops.
- The condition to be meat under the Manual for Drought Management are so stringent area may not be officially declared as facing a severe drought even while its farmers are suffering.
- They have asserted that before 2016,a drought year was considered when in a year in a particular area if there was deficient rainfall and the crop yield was less than 50% of the average of the previous 10 years.
Source
The Hindu