Abstract:
The District Gazetteer published in 1974 notes, ‘….most of the disasters that befell Wardha District were not due to scarcity of rain but excess of it. This has been confirmed by the Fact Finding Committee appointed by the then Government of Bombay in 1960. It reported that the incidence of crop failure in the district is very low and whenever it happened it was due to excessive rains. It concluded for that reason that none of the tehsils of the district could be regarded as scarcity area. But yet rainfall is the only determinant of the pattern and rotation of crops and the productivity of land’. (GoM, 2006)
Maharashtra is one of the highest producers of cotton in India. However, compared to
other states in India, the net production per acre is extremely low. This is generally
attributed to drought conditions in this region. Farmer suicides are especially common
these days and the only solutions provided are monetary support by the government
which is equivalent to putting a bandage on a stab wound. It might cover the problem on
the surface now, but the underlying problem still remains. This thesis is a study into the
underlying reasons regarding why such an issue has occurred and what can be done to
solve the issues by framing an appropriate water management plan for the proposal site
of Lonsawali in Wardha, Maharashtra. Enacting this on the ground would also require
support of the local stakeholders to reduce external dependency and promote selfsufficiency
