Rajasthan headed for a drought: Farm ministry

Rain situation this year not as grave as in 2002, says Govt report.

Agriculture ministry officials, who visited some of the regions that have borne the brunt of scanty rainfall this season, have reported that even though the situation is grim there is no need for panic as yet. However, the prospects of a drought are very real in Rajasthan.

The reports of these officials have been sent by the agriculture ministry to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. According to the reports, at this stage it is premature to assess the possible impact of a poor monsoon.

To know the real impact, another assessment will have to be done towards the end of July. The issue of providing drought relief would be considered after that, agriculture ministry sources said.

The five worst-affected areas visited by these officials are Rajasthan, Vidharba, Marathwada, western Madhya Pradesh and parts of Gujarat.

Though the performance of the monsoon has also been poor in Telengana, Rayalaseema, parts of Karnataka, Orissa, Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal, the situation improved after they experienced some rain in the past few days.

The latest advisory received by the agriculture ministry from the meteorological department indicates that even if the monsoon revives adequately in the next few days, it may not become too active in Rajasthan.

The state governments have already initiated steps to deal with the situation. They are expected to implement the contingency plans and provide farmers every help for switching to suitable alternative crops as and when the monsoon revives.

A comparison of the monsoon precipitation this year with the corresponding position in 2002, one of the worst drought years in the recent past, indicates that the situation this time is not as bad.

While the cumulative rainfall deficiency till July 14 this year was only 10 per cent, it was as much as 25 per cent in 2002. The number of meteorological subdivisions reporting over 40 per cent rainfall paucity is only three this time, against 10 in 2002.

The relatively better rainfall in the week preceding July 14 has made most of this difference. While the total countrywide rainfall in the week ending July 14 was deficient by 14 per cent this year, it was minus 66 per cent in the same week in 2002. The rainfall deficiency in the week prior to that was 24 per cent this year, against 64 per cent in 2002.

During this week, some meteorological subdivisions graduated from the 'normal' rainfall category to the 'excess' rainfall category. These include Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya and Bihar.

Similarly, Punjab and coastal Karnataka moved up from the 'scanty' rainfall category to the 'deficient' rainfall bracket.