Karad drought hit; Prithviraj Chavan seeks tehsil-wide drought declaration

The state government has declared drought in 265 of Maharashtra's 358 tehsils, but Karad tehsil has not been included in the list. Former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has claimed that the situation has turned severe in parts of Karad due to lack of rain, leaving farmers in distress. He has demanded that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis declare the entire Karad tehsil drought-hit.

Chavan raised the issue of the situation in Karad tehsil in a social media post. According to the information he shared, the kharif area in Karad tehsil is around 32,500 hectares. Of this, 13,500 hectares are under irrigation, meaning this land gets water through canals or other irrigation facilities, while as much as 19,000 hectares are rain-fed, meaning farming on this land depends entirely on rainfall. He said that when rains fail, this rain-fed farmland bears the direct brunt of it.

Chavan said the drought situation is severe in six revenue circles in Karad: Undale, Yevati, Kale, Masur, Indoli and Umbraj. He noted that water scarcity has increased so much in these six circles that farmers are suffering major losses. He demanded that instead of considering only some circles, the entire tehsil be declared drought-hit, taking into account the ground reality across the whole tehsil.

Chavan also demanded that a circle-wise survey be conducted in all 93 tehsils in the state where drought has not yet been declared. His position is that if a majority of the revenue circles in a tehsil meet the "Trigger-1" criteria, the entire tehsil should be included in the drought-hit list, rather than the decision being limited to a few circles alone.

Chavan also said there is a need to urgently take up water conservation works to overcome the drought situation. He demanded priority be given to building new chain check dams, and that desilting of old check dams begin immediately. He said desilting would increase the water storage capacity of the check dams.

Chavan noted that if these works are carried out under the Rohyo and MGNREGA schemes, it would have a dual benefit: providing employment to people in rural areas while also increasing water storage. Farmers and rural residents are now watching to see what decision the state government takes regarding Karad tehsil.