Drought in Maharashtra is a recurring phenomenon, rainwater harvesting may provide immediate relief after the monsoon due to increased storage, these interventions are always part of government programs, like Jal Yukta Sibar now and similar work has been carried out in the past as well. The need is to make radical changes in the policy, the state government has to revisit agriculture policy and incorporate changes to make it water-centric. The crops that consume the highest quantity of water need to be bared for cultivation in dry-land areas, especially sugarcane & rice cultivation through groundwater should be completely banned. Instead of that, promote high-value crops that consume less water. Demand management interventions need to be taken up.
Published by Subhash Jain, Independent Development Consultant
Drought in Maharashtra is a recurring phenomenon, rainwater harvesting may provide immediate relief after the monsoon due to increased storage, these interventions are always part of government programs, like Jal Yukta Sibar now and similar work has been carried out in the past as well. The need is to make radical changes in the policy, the state government has to revisit agriculture policy and incorporate changes to make it water-centric. The crops that consume the highest quantity of water need to be bared for cultivation in dry-land areas, especially sugarcane & rice cultivation through groundwater should be completely banned. Instead of that, promote high-value crops that consume less water. Demand management interventions need to be taken up.