This drought in Maharashtra is nothing new. We get his darshan from Saint Eknath's Bharuda. But in the last few years, overall, the cultivation of sugarcane, the crop of the sugar mills and the politics fed on it have affected agriculture. On the other hand, the unforgivable neglect of important issues like irrigation is exacerbating the plight of the drought. Whether it is agriculture or water planning, political interests always seem to prevail. The real causes of the drought in Maharashtra are in this interest.
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Elections are in full swing in Maharashtra at the moment, but the majority of the people in Maharashtra today are ignoring the fact that they are on fire.
In Maharashtra, the heat wave is on the rise, on the one hand, the drought is on and on the other hand, the Lok Sabha elections are in full swing. In drought stricken areas like Marathwada, the village is in dire need of water, the crowds behind the tankers and the wells are increasing, the animals are running free. However, the leaders and activists of various parties have no qualms about all this. Because the drought happens every year, but elections come once in five years. Therefore, election work became more important than drought work.
Drought is intensifying in Maharashtra and there is a shortage of water and fodder. At present, water is being supplied to about 9,660 villages by 3,700 tankers . The problem of fodder has become serious in many districts. As a result, about 524,000 animals have taken shelter in 872 fodder camps. The worst drought is in Beed district where 515 camps are functioning and there is a huge demand for camps from Marathwada.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had published the report before the district collectors of all the drought-hit districts. The report also highlighted how drought has always been more important than political interests. This is exactly what is happening today. The election of the Prime Minister of the country is important and the famine-stricken poor are facing both Asmani and Sultani crises.
In view of the possible drought situation in the state due to insufficient rains last year, the government declared drought in 151 talukas and 268 mandals in October alone. Later, due to increasing demand, famine was declared in 931 villages in the second phase and in another 4518 villages in the third phase.
In fact, the objective was to alleviate Maharashtra scarcity by 2019 through a planned action plan under 'Jalyukat Shivar Abhiyan'. In the first year, 5,000 villages were to be freed from scarcity . When the Devendra Fadnavis government came to power, he started this ambitious 'Jalyukat Shivar Yojana' with great fanfare. The people will be indebted to the government if the government announces a white paper on the success of the scheme and the number of tankers in the state.
Declaring a drought is a technical matter at the government level. Declaring a drought has cost the government a huge amount. That is why it is often referred to as a scarcity-like or drought-like situation, rather than a total drought. That said, the administration can get its hands on the obligation to provide concessions to drought-stricken villages. It should also be kept in mind that due to the current election environment, this drought can be taken advantage of by political parties.
In drought prone villages, relief from land revenue, restructuring of co-operative loans, suspension of recovery of agricultural loans, reduction in agricultural pump bills, waiver of student examination fees, some relaxation in work criteria under Rozyo Employment Guarantee Scheme, tankers for drinking water supply Measures are taken to do so. But the process has not yet gained momentum. It is clear that there is resentment in the villages as the election calculations seem more important than the drought.
At present, only four per cent water is stored in water projects in Marathwada. Out of 8,550, 1,455 villages and 501 hamlets are facing water scarcity. The tanker is expected to cost over Rs 100 crore in the next three months. Out of Rs 2,350 crore in Marathwada, approximately 1 lakh 59 thousand 599 works were completed between 2015 and 19 through government grants and public participation. The administration claims that 3500 villages have been irrigated. However, ' Why the famine despite the crushing of crores of rupees?' Such a question is being asked.
Also, the government decided to waive examination fees in 210 talukas. However, it has been reported that 382 college students in five districts affiliated to Amravati University have not benefited. Just as the students are still waiting for help, so are the mute animals. Due to the scarcity of fodder, many people keep their animals in fodder camps that start in drought prone areas. However, fodder camps have not yet been approved in many districts.
Politicians who raised questions about the severity of the drought in the state a few months ago are now embroiled in the Lok Sabha polls. For example , the Marathwada-Vidarbha dispute had erupted over the water issue at the Khadakpurna project in Buldana district . The NCP had taken a stand on this issue and accepted the role of not giving water to Marathwada. Shiv Sena had also jumped into this controversy. He also mentioned this controversy when the Chief Minister visited Sindkhedraja. But now, two months later, no one is ready to talk about it. Even in the run-up to the elections, everyone seems to be trying to sidestep the issue of drought.
Though politicians have turned a blind eye, people in some areas seem determined to make the issue political. More than 55 villages in Paithan taluka of Jalna district have taken the stand of 'no water, no vote'. Political parties promise to complete the Brahmagavan Upsa Irrigation Scheme in every election. But nothing is happening. In protest, these villages have declared 'No Water, No Vote'. If other famine victims take the same role, politicians will have little ground to run.
This drought in Maharashtra is nothing new. We get his darshan from Saint Eknath's Bharuda. But in the last few years, overall, the cultivation of sugarcane, the crop of the sugar mills and the politics fed on it have affected agriculture. On the other hand, the unforgivable neglect of important issues like irrigation is exacerbating the plight of the drought. Whether it is agriculture or water planning, political interests always seem to prevail. The real causes of the drought in Maharashtra are in this interest.
Skymet, a private observatory, has reported heavy rains in the coming season. El Niā¤¨ोo is expected to reduce the average rainfall, he said. He estimated that the probability of below average rainfall would be 55 per cent. If this happens, next year could be a water bomb for Maharashtra as a whole. Therefore, it is necessary to make the rulers aware that drought will not be an option for elections.
Not to mention we have a Drought Management Code, there are many water schemes, there are agronomists-hydrologists, there are reports written for drought relief, there are books, there are drought relief experiments successfully implemented in many places. Despite all this, why the drought every year? The answer is like a bell tied around a cat's neck. Easy to say and impossible to say.
Economics has two main sections, micro and macro. The micro section takes an in-depth look at each topic and thinks in terms of that topic. The macro section looks at all subjects from top to bottom with a single eye, like a bird watching from the sky. Today, there are many who look at the issue of drought in Marathwada from a micro point of view. But by coordinating all of them, by removing the golden mean of everyone's point of view, it does not seem to be a holistic, integrated idea for drought.
The government understood this demand and announced such an integrated policy. But in reality, the extent to which this policy has been implemented is not clear. Of course, this implementation cannot happen overnight. It requires a few years of continuous effort. But even today, the integrated thinking in paper policy does not seem to be happening.
Since this thought does not occur, the same formulas in different difficulties are not understood. Then on the one hand the work of employment guarantee scheme is worked out to solve the problem of migration, on the other hand there is the language of industrial development for the migrants who come to the city. On the one hand, the number of sugar mills is increasing, but it is said that it is difficult to guarantee the sugarcane in the field. The teachers in the school insist on arriving on time, but there is no transport system to reach the villages.
In the absence of all these systems, a parallel economy emerges. From water pouch makers to unauthorized tankers, from dropping electricity figures to illegal traffic in villages, from village girl abductors to parents, from unauthorized moneylenders to government agents and from illegal sand miners to land mafias, the economic crisis is dire. The benefits of any scheme will not reach the real beneficiaries unless this system is dismantled.
We tried to look at the question of Marathwada from our study from a holistic, macro perspective. Audit of work done to date, data collection, analysis and planning, water conservation and equitable allocation, industrialized water planning, water recycling, water literacy, modern agricultural training, providing markets to farmers, natural disaster planning, financing and compensation system, village and city links Droughts over the years can only be overcome if an integrated policy for drought relief is formulated by jointly considering various measures such as development, development of infrastructure, development of non-agricultural areas in rural areas, etc.
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