THE Supreme Court of India has held the central government accountable for the failure to put in place comprehensive steps in dealing with one of the worst droughts that the country is facing in recent memory. The Court also criticised the state governments of Bihar, Gujarat and Haryana for an “ostrich-like attitude” to drought-hit areas. The Court issued a series of directives to the central government and the states on tackling the drought as a disaster. The strictures of the Court have come at a time when millions of people in the rural areas are undergoing terrible suffering due to the drought which has led to no water or work for the people and no fodder or water for the cattle. The severity of the drought is due to the fact that there have been two successive years of shortage of rainfall in many areas. In Marathwada, where the drought is the severest, this is the third consecutive year of drought. The country is faced with an unprecedented water crisis. Water availability in India’s 91 reservoirs is at its lowest in the decade representing 29 percent of their total storage capacity. The consequent rural distress is manifesting in hunger, severe malnutrition, migration, starvation and death of cattle and desperate efforts to garner water resources. The central government had submitted a report to the Supreme Court in the third week of April that 330 million (33 crores) people have been affected by drought in 256 districts. Actually, the situation was much worse since all the states had not submitted their reports to the centre. Further, many state governments had not officially declared affected areas as drought-affected. It is estimated that taking into account also the districts which have not been notified so far, 540 million (54 crore) people are affected by the drought. This constitutes two-fifth of the country’s population. While it is for the state governments to declare drought-affected areas and take drought relief measures, the central government has a crucial role in taking steps to tackle drought. As the Court pointed out, the Disaster Mitigation Fund proposed under the Disaster Management Act has not been constituted. The other major culpability of the central government is its callous denial of funds for the rural employment guarantee scheme. After the curtailment of the MGNREGS in 2014-15, when employment crashed to 166 crore person days, the figure rose to 230 crore person days of work in 2015-16 reflecting the growing demand for work in drought areas. But no funds have been provided by the centre for the wages to be paid. This has resulted in Rs 12,000 crore arrears of wages at the end of 2015-16. The cruel spectacle of women and men putting in hours of hard labour and in a desperate plight because of not getting their wages for months is a telling indictment of the Modi government. Prime Minister Modi met the chief ministers of UP, Maharashtra and Karnataka last week in a belated step to address the problem. However, the centre has been found wanting in taking measures on a war footing to tackle the disaster. The Supreme Court has directed that mid-day meals be supplied to children in the schools during the summer vacation. Along with that, special rations through the public distribution system has to be ensured. The central government must release the first full tranche for the MGNREGS. The state governments have to declare all the affected areas as drought-hit. For instance, the whole of Telangana should be declared as drought-hit. As per the Manual of Drought Management, drinking water for the people and water and fodder for cattle must be arranged in the affected areas. The problem of drought is something that will recur. What is required is the capacity to deal with drought and protect the rural population to sustain livelihoods and the rural economy. This capacity has been weakened and disrupted by the agrarian policies pursued under neo-liberalism. The reduction in public investment in agriculture and public expenditure on rural development has weakened the rural economy. Along with this, the free trade policies and fluctuations in prices have impoverished the peasantry and precipitated rural distress. It is, therefore, essential to change these policies. There has to be increased public investment in agriculture and rural development, price support for farmers and expansion of MGNREGA and the implementation of the National Food Security Act throughout the country. At the end of the two years of the Modi government, its biggest failure has been in tackling the agrarian distress which is manifested starkly in the way it has handled the drought situation in the country.