Water, not debt, driving farmers to death

Water scarcity is the main reason behind the suicide of farmers according to an approach paper on the 12th Five Year Plan (2012 to 2017) prepared by two Tamil Nadu-based experts.

“According to the National Crime Records Bureau, one farmer commits suicide every 30 minutes. The main cause of these suicides is non-availability of water at the initial stage of the crops leading to the ruining of crops and the subsequent debt trap,” Prof PM Natarajan, director, Centre for Climate Change, Periyar Maniammai University, Tanjore and Shambu Kallolikar, a young IAS officer who is secretary to the governor of Tamil Nadu argues in a paper they submitted to the Planning Commission.

The Planning Commission said on Saturday that optimum use of water resources is one of the pre-requisites for the proposed 9 per cent growth envisaged in the 12th Five Year Plan.

Prof Natarajan and Kallolikar say that unless major rivers in the country are inter-linked through a network of canals and the flood water which is drained into the seas harvested, India is in for a serious water and food crisis within the next decade. Natarajan is a hydro-geologist of repute.

The duo has called for immediate steps to launch the project to inter-link the country’s major rivers. Prof Natarajan says that during a normal monsoon year, India wastes into the sea 1263 billion cubic meters (BCM) of precious water.

“Our present per capita annual water storage is a just 200 cubic meter while that of USA is 6,000 cubic meters. Brazil has 3388 cubic meter per capita storage capacity while China has 2500 cubic meters,” he told DNA while explaining the salient points in the approach paper.

A three-year-long study by Kallolikar and Natarajan has proved that India’s water scarcity is the result of non-sharing. “The flood water or the surplus water in major rivers could be transferred to regions and basins facing severe water shortage. But the major stumbling block is the fear among the political class whether they would lose their well-nourished vote banks,” said Prof Natarajan. He pointed out that while some regions like Tamil Nadu face perennial drought certain regions in the country are tormented by floods round-the-year.

Prof Natarajan, points out that according to Central Water Commission the per capita annual water resources of the country will come down from the present 1820 cubic meters to 1341 cubic meters within ten years. “We are in for worst scenarios like that of Somalia,” he warned.

More than five lakh farmers from the Cauvery Delta, the Rice Bowl of Tamil Nadu, have migrated to cities as far as Kochi and Mumbai due to water shortage in the last three years. But Kattumannarkoil Kannan, a Cuddalore farmer and RV Giri, leader of the Consortium of Indian Farmers Association, said more than 20 per cent of farmers in the Delta Region have stopped farming operations due to a host of reasons ranging from water scarcity and labour shortage. "The price of rice shot up to Rs45 a kg because farmers in the Delta decided to go ahead with crop holidays.  What we are getting as procurement prices is just peanuts," said Giri.

 

Besides addressing the shortage of water, the inter basin transfer of surplus water could be used to  produce clean and green energy, said Prof Natarajan. “We can generate 34, 000 MW of green energy  through mini, micro and medium hydro electric projects once the rivers are inter linked,” he said. A study by the duo found that the Mettur Dam in Tamil Nadu could be filled to capacity in nine hours with a portion of the flood waters in Godavari  River.