Niti Aayog asked to chalk out drought mitigation strategy

NEW DELHI: Hit by severe drought in at least 11 states across the country, the BJP-led NDA government has tasked its premier think-tank Niti Aayog to outline a drought mitigation strategy for the country.

The report, which is likely to propose short-term, mediumterm and long-term measures, is expected in a fortnight following which the Aayog will get into a mission mode to get the task done so that the country and its farmers could get some relief from droughts year after year, a senior government official told ET.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met chief ministers of three drought-affected states last week following which a meeting was held at the Aayog on Sunday to chalk out the strategy for combating drought. These included chief ministers of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh while a meeting with the Telangana CM happened on Monday.

“The focus of the report would be to assess if major irrigation projects have done more harm than good and how can we address the problem in the long run,” the official quoted above said on the condition of anonymity. Top officials of rural development ministry, agriculture ministry, Niti Aayog, industry experts and other stakeholders will brainstorm over the next 10 days to find a sustainable solution to drought menace in the country.

The recommendations of the Aayog, if they could bring about visible improvement on the ground in addressing the drought problem, would go a long way in establishing the credibility of the institution which is being seen as a seat of cooperative federalism.