Kerala seeks Rs 1,000 crore from Centre to face worst drought in 115 years

Around 30,000 hectares of crops have been damaged thus affecting 2 lakh farmers

With the State facing the worst drought in the past 115 years, the Government of Kerala asks the Centre to release a relief assistance of close to Rs 1,000 crore. Kerala Ministers are expected to meet Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Radha Mohan Singh and others on March 28.

"Apart from a huge loss in agriculture, there were costs in terms of water supply and others. We have estimated the loss to the tune of close to Rs 1,000 crore and we are asking assistance from the centre," E Chandrasekharan, Minister for Revenue and Housing told Business Standard.

The government has announced all the districts as drought hit in October 2016 and has been taking steps to overcome the situation. But, the Kerala government hints at further worsening of the situation. 

V S Sunil Kumar, Minister for Agriculture, Kerala said, "Around 30,000 hectre of crops has been affected so far and we are afraid more losses will be there if the water scarcity continues." Around 2 lakh farmers has been affected so far and the government has increased the crop insurance in order to compensate them.

State got early signs of drought when the southwest Monsoon — from June 1 to September 30, 2016 — recorded a rainfall deficiency of 33.7 per cent than the normal. The following northeast Monsoon — from October 1 to December 1, 2016 — fell short of 61.7 per cent. The following months of January and February also saw rainfall shortage, as compared to the normal.

According to authorities, the total annual rainfall in the State generally varies from 360 cm in the extreme northern parts to about 180 cm in the southern parts. During the southwest monsoon, which the Keralites call as Edavappathi, the State receives about 70 per cent of its annual rainfall. However, the northeast Monsoon, known as Thulavarsham, used to balance any deficiency in the earlier monsoon.

However, this time, even the northeast Monsoon also was deficient, leaving the State hit with worst drought in a century, said ministers. The government is taking all efforts to improve the water levels, including rejuvenation of ponds, rivulets, springs, streams, canals and lakes under Harithakeralam (Green Kerala) Mission. Efforts are also on to improve the ground water levels, for future sustenance, said Kumar. Water kiosks were set up across the state and water is being supplied in tanker lorries in some places, said Revenue Minister.

Mullappalli Ramachandran, a Congress Member of Parliament (MP), attributing to initial estimates has recently stated that over 27,000 hectare of paddy crop has been damaged and overall crop loss is estimated to be around Rs 250 crore. With the capacity of major reservoirs hitting low levels, the incidents of wild animals creating havoc in the nearby villages has increased. The government is now planning to build bunds in the forest rivers to preserve water, so that the animals won't come out of forests in search of water.

According to the Central Water Commission's weekly report, for the week ending March 23, 2017, the storage as a percentage of live capacity at full reservoir level has fallen in five out of the four reservoirs in the State. Idamalayar is the only reservoir where the storage per cent is comparatively high, though it is less than the average storage of the past 10 years.

While rainfall shortage could be one of the main reasons for the shortage, this is the time when the State has to rethink on its water resource management strategy, feels State Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac.

In the budget speech, he said, "The drought we experience today in Kerala is the result of our water misuse. Even though the state is experiencing a considerable shortfall of rain, considering the national statistics on rainfall, it is evident that we could have averted this distressful situation had we followed a proper water conservation policy."

Kerala is known for its abundant natural resources, especially water. The state has 44 rivers, 27 backwaters, mostly in the form of lakes and ocean inlets, seven lagoons, 18,681 ponds and over 30 lakh wells, according to the State Irrigation Department data. Of this, 11 rivers are above 100 km in length and their cumulative length is 1643 km, with a catchment area of 25,058 sq km and the effective catchment area of all the river basins is 38,864 sq km. Five major rivers — Periyar, Bhrathapuzha, Pamba, Chaliyar and Chalakudy — together drain 40 per cent of the geographical area of the state. Apart from all these, springs also contribute to the water resources in Kerala.

The state government's proposed strategy is to convert rivers to reservoirs through regulators and check dams and it will be a solution for the influx of brackish water during summer. This intervention is found successful in Bharathapuzha, Periyar and Chaliyar. The government, in its latest budget speech, has said that in order to control brackish water and for reducing the intensity of drought in summer season an amount of Rs 600 crore will be invested from KIIFB for the construction of 30 regulators in suitable places along 20 rivers.

In view of the present drought in the state, an amount of Rs 30 crore is specially earmarked for the disaster management activities. In addition to this, an amount of Rs 18 crore is set apart for rain water pipe and ground water recharging.

Preventive measures to tackle the drought were started well in advance. There will be an amount of Rs 300 crore in the Disaster Management Fund, including the unspent balance of the year and the next year's provision of Rs 203 crore, said Isaac.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department, from March 1 to March 22, there was excess rainfall in Kerala. The State received 83.5 mm as against 18.1 mm normal rainfall during the period, which is a large excess of 362 per cent. However, this cannot be compared with the deficiency in rainfall during the two major monsoon seasons, said Chandrasekharan.

With the steps taken by the government, including water conservation and improving the water levels underground, the State can averse any drought situation in future, said Kumar.