Context: Maharashtra is again facing concerns over drought and agricultural distress, prompting comparisons with the severe 1972 drought, one of the State’s defining drought crises.
- However, the nature of the challenge has changed: while the 1972 crisis exposed severe dependence on monsoon rainfall, the present situation is increasingly shaped by fiscal constraints, political competition and institutional responses.
The 1972 Drought: A Watershed Moment
- Consecutive years of poor monsoons in 1972 created a severe drought crisis, with crop failures, water scarcity and widespread rural distress.
- The crisis generated strong political mobilisation, with Opposition leaders demanding greater government intervention and support for affected farmers and rural communities.
- A notable response was the introduction of an employment guarantee mechanism, initially supported through additional taxation and later institutionalised as the Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS).
- The Maharashtra EGS subsequently became an important model for providing employment during periods of rural distress and influenced the broader evolution of employment-guarantee policies in India.
- The State's drought experience therefore demonstrated the need to combine relief measures with employment and livelihood security.
Present Drought Concerns: A Different Challenge
- The present situation comes amid a State already facing a large debt burden and fiscal pressures, making extensive drought relief financially difficult.
- Maharashtra has announced a ₹45,000-crore drought-relief programme, while its fiscal position limits the scope for additional borrowing and expenditure.
- The State had already consumed around ₹50,000 crore of its borrowing capacity during the first five months of the financial year.
- The 2026-27 Budget projects a revenue deficit of ₹40,552 crore and a fiscal deficit of around ₹45,152 lakh crore (as reported in the article; the figure should be read in the context of the State's projected fiscal deficit).
- Around ₹70,000 crore has been allocated merely for servicing interest on State borrowings, highlighting the trade-off between debt servicing and expenditure on drought relief.
Drought Relief and Employment Guarantee
- Maharashtra's historical response to drought was to use employment generation as a form of social protection, rather than relying exclusively on direct financial relief.
- The earlier Employment Guarantee Scheme has been renamed VB-G RAM G (Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission), according to the article.
- The experience demonstrates how drought policy can evolve from short-term relief towards employment, income security and rural resilience.
Structural Agricultural Vulnerability
High Dependence on Rainfall
- Despite being one of India's economically stronger States, Maharashtra has only around 17–18% of its gross cropped area under irrigation.
- A large majority of farmers therefore remain dependent on monsoon rainfall, making agricultural output highly vulnerable to rainfall variability.
- This vulnerability persists despite Maharashtra having recorded periods of relatively strong agricultural growth.
Agricultural Growth
- Maharashtra recorded over 100% year-on-year rainfall in the preceding year, contributing to favourable agricultural conditions.
- However, its Economic Survey recorded agricultural growth of only around 3.4%, compared with approximately 9.1% in the previous fiscal year.
- This illustrates that favourable rainfall alone does not eliminate structural vulnerabilities in agriculture.
Political Economy of Drought
- Drought declarations have significant political and fiscal consequences because affected constituencies become eligible for financial, administrative and social support.
- The governing coalition therefore faces pressure to secure “drought-affected” status for its constituencies.
- Every Member of the Legislative Assembly may seek drought declaration for their constituency, creating incentives for competitive demands for government assistance.
- A formal drought declaration can trigger automatic relief measures, allowing governments to demonstrate responsiveness to affected populations.
- Consequently, drought policy can become intertwined with electoral politics and resource allocation, even when the underlying severity of drought varies across regions.
Three-Party Coalition and Governance Challenges
- Maharashtra's three-party coalition government faces additional challenges in coordinating drought-relief priorities.
- Power-sharing can create competing pressures among coalition partners regarding which regions receive priority for government assistance.
- The article highlights concerns that administrative decisions may increasingly be influenced by constituency-level political demands.
- This creates a broader governance challenge: ensuring that drought relief is based on objective vulnerability and scientific assessment rather than political influence.
Changing Nature of Maharashtra's Drought Vulnerability
- The comparison between 1972 and today shows that Maharashtra's vulnerability is not merely a consequence of inadequate rainfall.
- Low irrigation coverage, dependence on rain-fed agriculture, rural indebtedness, fiscal constraints and climate variability now interact to determine the severity of agricultural distress.
- Even when rainfall is relatively adequate, structural weaknesses can prevent agricultural incomes from improving proportionately.
- Increasing climate variability further strengthens the case for long-term drought resilience rather than repeated crisis-driven relief.
Significance for Maharashtra's Agriculture
- Maharashtra has a large agricultural economy but continues to face substantial rain-fed farming dependence.
- Improving irrigation coverage, water-use efficiency and drought-resistant agricultural practices is therefore crucial for reducing vulnerability.
- The State needs to move from post-drought compensation towards anticipatory drought management, including water conservation, crop diversification and climate-resilient agriculture.
