Jaipur — The Rajasthan government has declared 80 tehsils across 14 districts drought-affected for the 2026 kharif season, citing deficient rainfall and adverse crop conditions, in a notification issued by the Department of Disaster Management, Relief and Civil Defence on October 24.

Source: Times of India

Of the 80 tehsils named in the notification, 69 have been classified as severely drought-affected and 11 as moderately affected. The declaration will remain in force for six months, and the assessment was carried out under the Centre's Drought Management Manual, 2016.

Barmer and Jalore have the highest number of drought-hit tehsils, at nine each, followed by Jodhpur and Dungarpur with seven each, and Jaisalmer and Phalodi with five each. In Barmer, the affected tehsils include Gadra Road, Chauhtan, Barmer, Baytoo, Sedwa, Ramsar, Shiv, Dhanau and Barmer Rural.

To tackle fodder shortages, Barmer district collector Chinmayi Gopal has approved 10 fodder depots in the first phase, to be run through village service cooperative societies. Government sources said this is the first phase of the exercise, and more tehsils could be added to the drought-hit list in the coming months if conditions worsen.

The declaration follows sustained political pressure from former chief minister Ashok Gehlot, who had criticised Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma's government over the delay in declaring drought-hit areas. Gehlot had flagged crop losses and shortages of water and fodder, particularly in western Rajasthan, and demanded early relief measures including fodder depots, cattle camps and tanker-based drinking-water supply.

Source: IANS

The notification gives the administration a formal basis to move relief into the affected areas. How quickly water, fodder and income support actually reach farmers and livestock owners will now depend on district-level implementation, as concerns grow over rural livelihoods, crop losses and possible migration from the worst-hit pockets.