Concerned about the grim draught situation faced by some parts of the country, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has tasked Niti Aayog to prepare a contingency plan for 67 districts in the country that are prone to drought even in years of normal monsoon. The Irrigation Commission had identified 67 drought-prone districts, comprising 326 talukas across eight states with an area of 49.73 million hectares and the Niti Aayog will have to prepare location-specific remedial measures for all the identified districts.
The plan will include material as well as financial support to these districts year after year so as to help them improve their condition. It was reported that Niti Aayog has been asked to prepare the plan at the earliest so that the government can start addressing the problem forthwith.
Some of the financial measures being considered include enhanced subsidies, funding for sowing perennial crops and enhanced work allocation under rural employment guarantee programme. The material support could include making available seeds and other inputs to ensure that farmers get back to their fields with alternate crops even if the main crops fail.
About one-sixth of India, home to about 12% of the country's population, is drought-prone, with the areas that receive rainfall up to 60 cm a year being the most vulnerable. India is heavily dependent on monsoon rains, which have been poor for two years in a row. The government had recently said that nearly 256 districts across India, home to nearly a quarter of the population were impacted by the drought.