The data was collected by ‘drought warriors’ associated with the Dushkal Hatavu Manus Jagavu (‘Eradicate drought, raise people’s awareness’) (DHMJ) drought forum, in March-April 2007.

DHMJ is a broad-based forum initiated under the PACS Programme that now includes many NGOs not associated with the programme (to view an earlier report on the forum, click here).

The network involves around 500 NGOs spread across the districts of Aurangabad, Jalna, Parbhani, Beed, Latur, Hingoli, Osmanabad, Nanded, Yavatmal, Gadchiroli and Buldhana.

One of the core activities of the DHMJ is the creation of a cadre of ‘drought warriors’ who work at the village level to raise awareness about drought-related issues and collect data systematically for local, regional and state-level advocacy and planning.

These drought warriors, who are usually field staff of DHMJ partners, collect data through a ‘drought diary’, a printed questionnaire with 80 questions on issues such as rainfall, status of water sources, and impact of water scarcity on women, dalits, children and cattle.

In March-April 2007, drought diaries were filled in around 1,000 villages of the 11 districts of Marathwada and Vidarbha where the DHMJ is active.

Data from 804 villages was subsequently analysed by Sampark, the PACS Programme’s communications agency for Maharashtra, which then prepared a report.

The Sampark report states that there is blatant overuse of groundwater resources in complete violation of the Maharashtra Groundwater (Regulation for Drinking Water Purposes) Act of 1993.

According to this Act:

• Digging of a well (open well or borewell) by any private party within a distance of 500 metres from any public water source is prohibited.
• The district collector can prevent the use of borewells for six months (February 1 to July 31) in areas where water scarcity has been declared.

Despite acute water scarcity in the surveyed villages, these provisions have not been observed.

The DHMJ survey found groundwater levels were satisfactory in only 109 (13%) of the 804 villages, and within critical limits in another 221 villages (27%).

In the remaining 60% of villages surveyed, groundwater is at a critical level of over 200 feet. In 29% (238) of villages it is at a depth of 300-400 feet, and in 12% (96) of villages it is at a depth of 400-500 feet.

Groundwater from below 300 feet is considered unsafe for drinking. This means that in around 40% of the surveyed villages, people have been drinking unsafe water.

Groundwater levels are directly linked to sugarcane cultivation. Osmanabad, Beed, Latur and Nanded are Marathwada’s main sugarcane growing districts and it is in these very districts that groundwater levels have crossed 300 feet.

This clearly indicates illegal and excessive use of groundwater to irrigate sugarcane.

The DHMJ survey showed no evidence of any ban on wells within 500 metres from public water sources, in any of the surveyed villages. Nor did it find any evidence of district collectors declaring an area as hit by water scarcity and banning the use of borewells for six months.

On the other hand, there is evidence of wealthy farmers buying land near public water sources only to dig borewells and transport water to their fields -- the water is carried through underground pipes, sometimes for as far as 10 km.

While wealthy sugarcane farmers use groundwater indiscriminately and illegally, the rest of the village suffers badly. Women are the worst affected.

The survey found that:

• Women in 65% of villages have to collect drinking water from outside their villages.
• In 38% of villages, women have to collect water from a distance of 1-2 km; in 25% of villages they have to walk 2-5 km, and in 14% of villages they have to collect water from a distance of over 5 km.
• Women from 369 villages (48%) spend one hour every day collecting water. Women from 250 villages (33%) spend two hours a day, and women from 127 villages (17%) spend three hours a day on this activity.

Due to water scarcity, people in around one-fourth of the surveyed villages do not bathe every day, and children from around a sixth of the villages do not attend school regularly.

Over 9,300 child labourers were found in hotels and other establishments in 314 villages.

There are 2,698 handpumps in the 804 villages. But, of these, 1,265 pumps (nearly 50%) do not work.

Discrimination against dalits is evident. In 25% of the surveyed villages there are no water sources in dalit habitations; the people here live on the mercy or occasional kindness of farmers who have wells in the vicinity. Water supplied from tankers is often poured into public wells or tanks that dalits cannot use.

Water was available for cattle in 560 of the villages, and feed was available in 458 villages. However, the price of cattle feed has increased by 200%-300%. Cattle camps had been opened only in 21 villages, and in 441 villages (55%) there were reports of farmers selling cattle to slaughterhouses.

According to government estimations of water scarcity, made on the basis of crop production, a drought-like situation prevails in 54% of the surveyed villages.

People from 374 villages had demanded work under the state’s Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS). Work had started in 231 villages. However, in 229 villages, machines had been used for excavation, in violation of the letter and spirit of the scheme. People were being paid on a piece-work basis, and daily wages received were in the range of Rs 25 and Rs 65, below the stipulated minimum wage of Rs 66-Rs 72.

Overall, EGS work like construction of farm ponds, percolation tanks, bunds, roads and wells had been undertaken in 438 of the 804 villages, but information about these works was not displayed in the gram panchayats of 205 villages.

In 271 villages (38%), farmers have been compelled to sell land, and in 245 villages (30%) farmers have mortgaged agricultural land to take loans. There were reports of farmers having committed suicide due to indebtedness, from 118 villages.

The DHMJ survey shows lack of long-term government planning and implementation of laws and policies to combat drought. The people seem to have greater faith in the supernatural than in the government’s willingness or ability to resolve their problems. In two-thirds of the surveyed villages, various kinds of religious rites were performed to invoke the rains.