Rajasthan has declared 80 tehsils across 14 districts drought-affected after poor rainfall, falling water supplies and damage to the kharif crop, Hindustan Times reported.
The state's disaster management, relief and civil defence department issued two notifications, on October 24 and 25. They classify 69 tehsils as severely affected and 11 as moderately affected. The declarations stay in force for six months.
The districts on the list
The 14 districts are Banswara, Barmer, Balotra, Bikaner, Churu, Dungarpur, Beawar, Jaisalmer, Jalore, Jodhpur, Phalodi, Nagaur, Pali and Sirohi. Affected tehsils by district:
- Jodhpur: 12
- Barmer and Jalore: 10 each
- Balotra: 9
- Pali: 8
- Dungarpur, Jaisalmer and Phalodi: 7 each
- Banswara: 3
- Churu and Beawar: 2 each
- Bikaner, Nagaur and Sirohi: 1 each
Every listed tehsil in Barmer, Jalore, Balotra and Pali is in the severe category. In Jodhpur, 11 of the 12 are severe, with Pipar Shahar the only moderate one.
How the decision was made
According to the notifications, the assessment looked at rainfall shortfall, surface water and groundwater, crop conditions and data from the Centre's Drought Monitoring Portal. It followed the Centre's Drought Management Manual of 2016.
Why it matters: a weak monsoon and empty dams
The Water Resources Department's report of September 30 shows how dry the season was:
- Rajasthan received 350.83 mm of rain between June 1 and September 30, against a normal of 424.71 mm.
- 14 of the state's 41 districts had deficient rainfall, 24 had normal rainfall and three had excess rainfall.
- The state's 693 monitored dams were at 62.16% of capacity, against 90.19% a year earlier.
- Storage in the Jodhpur zone was just 15.98%, against 80.45% a year earlier.
With the declarations in force for six months, much of western Rajasthan faces the coming months with its reservoirs far below last year's levels.