GENERAL ARTICLES
CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 100, NO. 12, 25 JUNE 2011
1795
Anil K. Gupta is in the National Institute of Disaster Management
(Government of India), New Delhi 110 002, India; Pallavee Tyagi is in
the Department of Natural Resource Management, Bundelkhand
University, Jhansi 294 128, India and Vinay K. Sehgal is in the Divi-
sion of Agricultural Physics, Indian Agriculture Research Institute,
Pusa, New Delhi 110 012, India.
*For correspondence. (e-mail: anil.nidm@nic.in)
Drought disaster challenges and mitigation in
India: strategic appraisal
Anil K. Gupta*, Pallavee Tyagi and Vinay K. Sehgal
Drought is the most widespread hydro-meteorological syndrome of ‘prolonged period of water
scarcity affecting natural resources, environment and, thereby, the people’. Environmental
changes, viz. climate change, land-use changes and natural resource degradation have aggravated
drought occurrences and vulnerability, thus disrupting the normal socio-economic settings. All the
regions of India suffer with drought incidences of varying periodicity, with 13 states repeatedly
declared as drought-prone. Complexities of drought symptoms and impacts have sought for an
understanding of an ecosystem approach for drought management, rather than as a hardcore mete-
orological discipline. Regions of Rajasthan, Bundelkhand, Karnataka and Orissa are typical exam-
ples of drought-related deprivation and resultant conflicts, whereas drought in states like
Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Haryana, etc. are the result of improper agriculture practices and poor
water management. In this article, the strategies of drought monitoring, data management, impacts
and mitigation approach are critically assessed in the Indian perspective. Integration of drought
management with the framework on natural resources and climate-change adaptation at different
levels have also been discussed.
Keywords: Assessment, drought management, mitigation, relief.
D
ROUGHT is a complex, slow-onset phenomenon of eco-
logical challenge that affects people more than any other
natural hazards by causing serious economic, social and
environmental losses in both developing and developed
countries. The period of unusual dryness (i.e. drought) is
a normal feature of the climate and weather system in
semi-arid and arid regions of the tropics, which covers
more than one-third of the land surface and is vulnerable
to drought and desertification
1
. A drought is an extended
period where water availability falls below the statistical
requirements for a region. Drought is not a purely physi-
cal phenomenon, but instead is an interplay between natu-
ral water availability and human demands for water
supply
2
. There is no universally accepted definition of
drought. It is generally considered to be occurring when
the principal monsoons, i.e. southwest monsoon and north-
east monsoon, fail or are deficient or scanty. Monsoon
failure causing crop failure, drying up ecosystems and
shortage of drinking water results in undue hardship to
the rural and urban communities
3
. Although droughts are
still largely unpredictable; they are a recurring feature of
the climate. Drought varies with regard to the time of oc-
currence, duration, intensity and extent of the area affected
from year to year
4
. Land abuse during periods of good
rains and its continuation during periods of deficient rain-
fall is the combination that contributes to desertification
5
.
Dry regions in India include about 94 mha and about
300 million people (one-third of India’s population) live
in these areas; more than 50% of the region is affected by
drought once every four years
6
. Different countries and
states have developed codes, manuals, procedures, pro-
cesses and policies for monitoring and management of
drought with varying understanding. Over the years, India
has developed a fairly elaborate governance system of
institutionalized drought monitoring, declaration and miti-
gation at different levels
7
. India’s response to the need for
enhanced drought management has contributed to overall
development. For example, the drought of 1965–1967
encouraged the ‘green revolution’, after the 1972 drought
employment generation programmes were developed for
the rural poor; the 1987–1988 drought relief effort
focused on preserving the quality of life
6
.
Drought: causes and effects
Drought is defined in many ways, like, ‘a period of dry
weather’
1
; ‘a condition of abnormal dry weather resulting
