Every few years, the Southwest Monsoon gives everyone in the country some sleepless nights and days filled with potential dread with a what if? What if the monsoon fails or ends up bringing below-par rains? Life revolves around the monsoon in a country that is still predominantly agricultural, with some 60% of the population still engaged in agriculture or allied activities. Telangana, as a state, is no exception to such worries. And there are good reasons to be worried too.
So far, all the data points to a sluggish monsoon setting over the state, and practically the entire state, if one goes by data provided by the Telangana State Planning Development Society, is parched. Just one data point shows how bad the situation is today – the TSPDS says that of the 33 districts in Telangana, 32 reported -100% deficit rain in 24 hours ending on Friday morning, with one district reporting -99% deficit.
It is a given that no one wants a poor, or even worse, a bad, monsoon. But as of now, things do not look good, and it is time to consider if Telangana is prepared to deal with a possible poor season of rains this year. No one has heard of any advisory from the state government or its agriculture department on what Telangana farmers might expect and how they can be prepared, just in case the rains decide to play truant.
But then, not all hope is lost. After all, the K Chandrashekar Rao government claims that it has drought-proofed almost the entire state, rattling out a list of actions it has taken since 2014.
The biggest of them all is the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation System, generally referred to for ease as the Kaleshwaram project. However, the latter is a misnomer as the entire project consists of not just one reservoir across Godavari near Kaleshwaram but a system of reservoirs, pumping stations, etc.
But the fact remains that with around 20 lakh agricultural borewells pumping out groundwater for irrigating crops, a bulk of Telangana’s approximately 1.34 crore acres of cropland that is expected to come under the plough this year’s Kharif season depends not on the classical canal-driven irrigation but on borewell irrigation.
The real problem in this context lies with the rainfed cropland of the state, amounting to around half of the 1.34 acres of Telangana’s cropland. And the silence on the part of the government, with rains expected, if at all, only from or after June 20, on any advice to the state’s farmers, is, to put it mildly, mildly disconcerting.
So, what can explain the government’s silence on this front so far? Is it KCR’s confidence that the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation System, coupled with Mission Kakatiya that the government claims had filled every tank and lake in the state, along with groundwater (borewell) irrigation, will see the state’s farmers through in the event of a bad rain year? And that these same steps would ensure enough drinking water for the state’s populace as Mission Bhagiratha relies on the same sources for water?
If the KCR government truly believes it has drought-proofed the state, then the silence can be explained. But that still leaves many questions that have been raised umpteen number of times on just how much land the Kaleshwaram system irrigates, whether the canal network is completed – which by all accounts – is little, and if Mission Bhagiratha supplies drinking water to all the households the government claims it does.
On the other hand, if the KCR government is silent just because it does not want the public’s attention to focus once again on the water projects – both irrigation and drinking – on which he has spent almost a couple of lakh crores, then it would be nothing short of criminal malfeasance.
Going by the KCR government’s history of maximum politics and minimum governance, this year’s monsoon could be the real litmus test of every claim his government has made so far.
If all goes well and we experience a normal monsoon, like all these years since Telangana was formed – something everyone wishes for and even prays for – then that would be most welcome. But if it does not, then this Kharif season that started this month and will end in September could well expose the myths of sustainable agriculture in Telangana that KCR claims will be a role model for the rest of the country as he goes sauntering from one state to another promising a ‘Kisan Sarkar’ this time around in the country.
I pray we have a good monsoon for our state’s and farmers’ sake – the truth about KCR’s claims can be easily checked through an audit once the government changes after the fast-approaching elections.
(The author is BJP
TS spokesperson)
