Govt works at one authority for rainfed area development

The authority will not only develop a perspective plan but also facilitate research on various dimensions of rainfed area development. Selected districts will also be chosen for upscaling of watershed development technologies.

According to the draft design, the authority will be managed by an apex board with around 10 members—with a competitively selected professional as a CEO, one representative each from the ministry of rural development and ministry of agriculture. The Apex Rainfed Areas Stakeholders Council, which the Prime Minister will chair, will provide guidance to the Apex board and review the performance.The authority will also set up a series of regional boards, that can cut across state boundaries, based on agro-ecological regions headed by CEOs and professionals. The regional boards in turn will set up district boards.

At the moment two-thirds of the country’s cultivable areas fall in the rainfed zone, which include the arid districts of Rajasthan, semi-arid and sub-humid areas of central, eastern and north-eastern states. These areas, which were largely unaffected by the Green Revolution, suffer from water shortages due to inadequate water storage structures. The authority is supposed to focus on setting up irrigation facilities in these areas.

Also studies in these areas have shown that yields of rainfed crops have been falling and water tables have also been falling dangerously. Studies also show that poverty and distress are concentrated in these neglected rainfed areas but that there is scope for addressing the problems through phased watershed development.