tal. What do we do then?” asks Pradeep. There are also com-
plaints about defaults vis-a-vis insurance money. In Mathana,
another village in Kurukshetra district, farmers say the soil
quality is not good enough for maize; it can only produce rice.
Officials, however, assert that farmers’ concerns are
unfounded. “Before the Green Revolution, it was maize only
that was planted here. It can be grown anywhere across the
state. Besides, the floods have affected a very small area. The
farmers who listed themselves under the scheme and do not
plant paddy on the affected lands will certainly get their
claims under insurance,” says Suresh Gehlawat, additional
director, agriculture, and the in-charge of the scheme. “We
promised farmers. The chief minister himself did it. It’s cer-
tain that they will get their due.”
He realises that shifting farmers from paddy to other crops
has been an exacting task for the government as rice is
remunerative. But, he says, the MSP of maize has been
brought close to that of rice (Rs 1,750 per quintal), the yield
per hectare is almost the same, there is a promise of procure-
ment, and these factors together are making the government
hopeful about the success of the scheme. Gurnaam Singh
Charuni, state president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, says
the scheme will do well if the government buys the grain and
farmers make as much money as they used to from rice.
However, he too mentions the compulsions of farmers in
areas with a high percentage of clay in soil, which is unfit for
maize cultivation.
A.R. Chaudhri, head of the geology department in
Kurukshetra University, says the scheme is an important
initiative to check groundwater depletion as the agricul-
tural sector alone consumes about 80 per cent of ground-
water. “Depletion started in the 1990s, when the
government made electricity free and farmers began using
groundwater without consideration,” says Chaudhri.
He suggests some measures for using rainwater to recharge
aquifers. “We should earmark natural boundaries of rivers
sytems. After the creation of dams, the dry tracts are con-
verted into agricultural fields. As a result of cultivation, the
seepage quality of the soil nosedives. The collector in every
district should ensure that natural river channels are not
encroached upon,” he says. “In addition, urban areas should
have dedicated stormwater drainage systems and the water
should be diverted into earmarked channels. To further
ensure percolation of water and recharging of aquifers, one-
foot-high walls must be created in the natural channels at
regular intervals. These will hold water, allow it to seep in and
prevent it from running off.” ODiscouraging
water-intensive
crops is important
as agriculture
alone consumes
80 per cent of
groundwater.
In deep water
workers at a
paddy field in
Sonipat5 August 2019 OutlOOk 47
Photographs: ViVek TriPaThi