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** * * ** ** ** Drought in Jharkhand: A recurring and poorly managed tragedy Drought is a recurrent phenomenon in Jharkhand. It affects the livelihoods of the majority of its people, particularly tribals and dalits living in rural areas. Twelve of the 22 districts of the state, covering 43% of the total land area, are covered under the Drought Prone Areas Programme (DPAP). Hunger and starvation deaths are reported almost every year. Jharkhand is one of the richest states in the country in terms of natural resources. However, the rate of growth in agriculture has been one of the slowest in the country both in terms of production and productivity. Almost 90% of the cultivated area is monocropped. Only 9% of the total cropped area is irrigated. Hence the rural population is very vulnerable to rainfall fluctuations. The worst-affected are primitive tribal groups which historically are late entrants to settled cultivation and own land on hilly slopes with very low fertility. Tribals constitute around 26% of the total population of the state, and 93% of them live in rural areas. Another group that is severely affected is the scheduled castes, primarily agricultural workers with very little land. Nature of drought Jharkhand receives almost 1200-1300 mm of rainfall every year but the rains are erratic in many areas. The probability of rainfall failures and coefficient of variations is quite high in the last weeks of June-July and in the last weeks of September-October. Hence, drought in the state primarily occurs at the start or end of the kharif season. In July, upland crops grow to maturity and seedlings for transplanted rice are established. If there is deficient rain, the upland crop—mainly paddy and maize, which provides food security in August-September— is affected. Seedlings for the transplanted paddy start to wilt or become over-mature. As most of the land is monocropped, the lowland paddy is crucial for employment and food security. A delay in rainfall affects the transplantation of agahani paddy, the major crops in the area. October (Hathia) rains are required for paddy and provide the necessary residual moisture for the rabi crop. The entire state is not generally affected by drought. However, there are areas which are affected frequently. Over a period of time, new areas become affected by drought, and we see that drought has been officially declared in areas outside the DPAP. When the rains fail, agriculture is usually the first to be affected because of its critical dependence on stored soil water. First, soil water in the uplands starts to deplete. Then shortage of water starts to affect people collectively and individually. The socio-economic impact of drought occurs sooner in Jharkhand than in other states as frequent droughts have weakened the capacity of the people to bear shock. While drought is basically caused by erratic and deficient rain, the problem has been aggravated by large-scale open-cast mining; deforestation; irregular and non-scientific mining and quarrying; inefficient management of resources, particularly water resources; and decline in traditional systems of water management. Impact of drought Jharkhand is one of the most food-insecure and malnourished states in the country. NSSO (55th round) data reveal that 10.46% of all households in Jharkhand face seasonal food insecurity. Around 2.5% of households face chronic food shortages. Of the families facing food insecurity, 64% face food shortages for two to three months while as many as 28% do not have sufficient food for four to five months. Almost 6% of the food-deficient households have to go hungry for more than half the year. The incidence of food insecurity is higher among ST and SC families. Assured food supplies exist for only three to four months of the year, after the harvest in late October-early November. Food supplies tend to run short by the end of winter. The starvation period begins by mid-summer (June) and in many cases, continues till the end of October. Seasonal under-nutrition among food-insecure households is normal. People belonging to scheduled castes and primitive tribal groups are worst-affected as they are generally landless and depend on migratory employment for an income. When earning members of a family are unable to migrate due to ill health or other reasons, the entire family faces starvation. The situation obviously becomes much worse when there is a drought. Drought affects all communities but in different ways. Among landless, marginal and small families, male members start to migrate early. Females and the aged are often left behind to take care of themselves. In 2004, some of the starvation deaths reported have been of women and the aged— for example the death of Tetari Devi in Ulgara (Mangalpur panchayat, Panki block) and Padarath Giri in Rajarappa (Ramgarh block). Landless, marginal and small farmers reduce their consumption of cereals, pulses and other items. The consumption of irregular foods like khuddi (broken rice), wild roots, gethi, chakora sag, and other forest produce increases (in some areas people eat these even in normal times). People add more water to dilute the foodgrain. A decrease in employment opportunities leads to a reduction in wages. People resort to the distress sale of assets, cattle and fuelwood and increase the frequency of trips to the forests for sustenance. The rate of interest on borrowings rises. Drought also increases health risks from malnutrition and unsafe drinking water. Medium and large farmers are unable to transplant paddy. The risk of cattle-grazing increases due to reduced social fencing. The crop becomes vulnerable to pests and termites and attack by wild animals that come close to habitation in search of water and food. Theft of standing crops increases. Decrease in the purchase of durable goods and clothes and postponement of social functions is reported. Drought management: Household strategies As drought is a frequent phenomenon in Jharkhand, households, the state and civil society organisations have evolved various strategies for coping before and after drought. At the household level, the strategies adopted before drought include: - crop diversification/ crop variety diversification - livelihood diversification - staggering of seedling periods - early migration - keeping land fallow - limited re-sowing. Strategies adopted after drought sets in include: - increased re-sowing if the rains come - shift to pulses on upland and medium-level land - early sowing of rabi crop - providing irrigation to paddy seedlings - transplantation of over-mature paddy seedlings to get straw for feeding animals - migration - asset depletion - increased borrowings - reduction in consumption In fragile zones and among the poorest households, reduction in consumption is the ultimate coping mechanism. State strategies When Jharkhand was part of Bihar, drought was not considered as major an issue as recurrent floods in northern Bihar. After Jharkhand became a separate state, many drought-prevention measures like promotion of watershed management and minor irrigation projects; restoration of lift irrigation schemes, wells and tanks and bench terracing have been promoted. The state government has reorganised the Relief and Rehabilitation Department and a Disaster Management Wing is expected to be formed. However, the government's response to drought remains poor. The following issues need to be highlighted: Poor recognition of drought Recognition of drought has two aspects – spatial (identifying areas with deficient rainfall) and temporal (identifying the time drought sets in). Recognition of drought according to these parameters has been unsatisfactory in Jharkhand. At the start of the monsoon, weekly reports on crop coverage and rainfall should be prepared. However, due to lack of staff and infrastructure at the block level, the reporting is poor. For instance, in 2004, blocks like Chainpur and Satbarwa in Palamu faced severe scarcity and loss of crop coverage, but they were not declared drought-hit as the block staff could not work due to the pressure of Naxalites. This apart, the quality and need for reporting crop coverage has declined as land has become an insignificant source of revenue. Another problem is that rainfall variations within a block are not recognised. For example, people in Patamada village near the Dalma mountain claim they get less rainfall than the rest of the block. As the rainfall gauge is normally located at the block office such variation is undetected. While it may not be possible to have rain gauges in all villages, rainfall variations can be reported through local enquiries. In August 2004, the whole of Jharkhand was declared drought-affected. Later there was good rainfall in some areas and the crop coverage improved, whereas there was no improvement in the rest of the state. The official declaration of drought has not taken into account differences in the severity of drought. In any case, the severity of drought is fully known only after the winter paddy is harvested. But by then the political pressure to declare an area drought-hit is reduced. The declaration of drought has been ad hoc. At times drought is declared at the level of blocks. Last year drought was declared at the panchayat level. Significantly, the state Directorate of Agriculture (DoA) does not have block-wise, let alone panchayat-wise, data of crop coverage. No effort has been made to recognise areas where over 75% of the crop has been lost in successive years. Such loss would warrant the declaration of famine even if the areas are small. Delayed and inadequate action Once drought is declared, emergency funds have to be requisitioned. However, in 2001, while drought was declared in the first week of August, the first instalment of funds for the construction of wells in each panchayat was released only in October 2002. The purpose of providing immediate relief was defeated. Ten quintals of grain were allotted to each panchayat so that people do not die of starvation. However some block officials said that they did not have godowns to store the grain. Besides, they had directions to store the grain only, not distribute it! There is also a time-lag between the planning and implementation of the DoA's relief package. Seeds distributed under the package reach blocks late; in some cases the seeds are not received at all. The allocation of funds for drought relief is inadequate and improper. For example, in 2004 the area-wise allocation of funds was based on population rather than the severity of drought. Non-participative planning Plans for drought-proofing and emergency measures are made by the DoA in consultation with some top officials and some large NGOs. District and block officers and farmers are hardly consulted. Farmer meetings are held only after the plan is finalised. Recently some mechanisms have been put in place to talk to farmers about their immediate needs but these are at a rudimentary state. Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) do not function in Jharkhand as PRI elections have not been held in the last 25 years. Hence people have no forum to participate in the planning and implementation of local-level projects. The absence of PRIs also makes it difficult for the government to allot funds and fix responsibility. Poor implementation of drought relief measures In 2001-02 the state government allocated Rs 77.4 million for digging small wells in each panchayat in drought-affected blocks. An additional sum of Rs 241.7 million was allotted in 2002-03. However against the target of 5,040 wells, only 2,458 were constructed. In 2002-03, a scheme was launched to dig one pond in each village of Palamu and Santhal Parganas through gram sabhas. A large number of works remain incomplete. In 2004 around Rs 800 million was allotted from the Calamity Relief Fund. But relief work has hardly begun in many areas. Ten quintals of grain have been kept at the panchayat level to give to families in distress. In many villages families have not been given that grain. The government is yet to evolve a foolproof mechanism for identifying distressed families, though this is mandatory under the Famine Code. Surveys to identify hungry families have been conducted by district administrations but in the absence of PRIs, the participation of people has been low and remote areas have hardly been covered. Poor implementation of wage employment programmes The implementation of wage employment programmes, which can provide relief in drought years has been poor in Jharkhand. In some cases machines have been used to get work done, defeating the purpose of providing employment to people. There are numerous allegations of under-payment of wages and forging of muster rolls. The Supreme Court has directed the central government to double the quota of grain given through wage employment programmes, but Jharkhand has not been able to take advantage of the extra allocation as it has not been able to utilise the grain quota given earlier. The state does not have adequate storage capacity in Food Corporation of India godowns. As a result, grain cannot be released in time. Poor interdepartmental cooperation There is poor coordination between the DoA, which is supposed to play a key role in the declaration of drought and drought crop management, and other departments involved, such as minor irrigation, electric supply, rural development, soil conservation, cooperation, civil supplies and the forest department. Outdated Famine Relief Code The government of Jharkhand has not made concerted efforts to modify and review the Famine Relief Code framed during British times. Ramesh Sharan is with the Department of Economics, Ranchi University. empowerpoor.com/backgrounder.asp?report=93 Subject Line by Jharkhand Blog ** <http://www.jharkhand.org.in/contact.htm> . * News TV <http://www.indian-tv.blogspot.com/> Blog <http://www.jharkhand.org.in/blog> Photo <http://www.jharkhand.org.in/photo> Music <http://www.jharkhandi.org/music.htm> Video <http://www.jharkhandi.org/video.htm> Live Chat <http://www.jharkhand.org.in/live> Directory <http://www.jharkhand.org.in/directory> Testimonials <http://www.jharkhand.org.in/directory> Forum <http://yahoogroups.com/group/jharkhand> Contact <http://www.jharkhand.org.in/contact.htm> . * -- Jharkhand Blog [EMAIL PROTECTED] Jharkhand Online Network www.jharkhand.org.in/blog --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Explore http://Jharkhand.org.in 4 Live Chat, i-Messaging, Music Video, News and much more..... 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