Keshubhai Patel Chief minister, Gujarat On overflowing check dams: We needed a permanent solution that not only drought-proofs the state but also provides livelihoods. The effort is to trap

Government watershed programmes run for a limited period. The impractical timeframe threatens to undo the goodwork

Investment in water is an insurance against poverty and drought. Down To Earth reporters visited the eight villages below during the droughts of 2000 and 2001. These villages have several years of

To fight drought, the Madhya Pradesh government embarked on a water conservation drive in February this year with its Pani Roko Abhiyan (Stop Water Campaign). The state administration geared up

Drought-proofing is a far cry. The drought of 2001 in 11 states of India is likely to go down as one of the worst in the past century. Government drought relief schemes fail due to bad planning and corruption. It can"t even provide short-term relief to th

The government’s drought relief programmes are bound to fail in the long run. Even the Planning Commission acknowledges that funds for the drought relief is becoming illegal income for officials, politicians and contractors

Employment Guarantee Scheme, first of its kind drought relief scheme has had no impact on the drought-prone areas of Maharashtra in almost 30 years because it has failed to involve people in managing rural assets

Revisits by Down To Earth reporters to villages that undertook water harvesting offer some valuable lessons in drought management

The need of the hour is to decentralise drought management and think long term