“This year, we harvested 25 sacks of grain. The yield has been declining every year.” Basant Lal , an Adivasi farmer from Ranipur village in Panna district, says this while describing his nearly two-and-a-half-acre farm. During our conversation, he recalls the changes the village has witnessed over the past two decades. “Twenty years ago, there was almost three times as much forest around here. There were trees of tendu, achaar and amla. Most people depended on forests and farming for their livelihoods. Back then, only three or four per cent of the villagers migrated for work. Today, nearly 65 per cent of the people are leaving the village in search of wage labour.”
Basant Lal points to another major change. “The rainfall is good, but the water level has still gone down by nearly five feet.” His observation is not limited to his own farm. It reflects a broader transformation visible across several villages in Panna, where sustaining a livelihood through farming is becoming increasingly difficult and farmers are gradually moving towards wage labour and migration.
The stories of Ranipur and Kalyanpur villages in Panna are not merely stories of water scarcity or drought. They reflect a rural economy and social environment that have been changing gradually over the past two decades. Families that once depended on farming and forests for their livelihoods are now increasingly turning to wage labour and migration amid changing monsoon patterns, rising temperatures, groundwater depletion and growing agricultural risks.
The story of 27-year-old Sangeeta Adivasi from Kalyanpur village reflects the changing lives of many families living in drought-prone villages of Panna, particularly tribal households. Changing climatic conditions, recurring droughts, declining water sources and the growing crisis in agriculture have pushed many such families away from farming towards wage labour. The impact is not limited to livelihoods; it is also visible in the social and family structure.
Sangeeta married Lakhan Adivasi, a resident of the same village, around eight years ago. During the early years of their marriage, the family somehow managed to survive on their one-and-a-half-acre farm. But over the past few years, inadequate income from agriculture forced her husband to take up factory work in Gujarat. He now returns home only two or three times a year.
During our conversation, Sangeeta was eight months pregnant. She said that for the past two years, she too had been travelling to Gujarat with her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter to work alongside her husband. This is not a choice but a compulsion. There are three young children in the family. The two elder daughters, one around six years old and the other three, stay in the village with their grandmother. Sangeeta says she has to take the youngest child with her, while her mother-in-law looks after the two elder girls.
Sangeeta’s mother-in-law, Harinbai, says both her sons live outside the village for work. Her daughters-in-law also accompany them at times. As a result, the responsibility of the household, children and farm falls on her. “Raat mein paani bharne uth jaat hain. Piyat ko paani nahi rahat. Khet pichhe khaali pade hain. Ab to bas dekhne bhar ke rah gaye hain,” she says. “We have to wake up at night to fetch water. There isn’t enough water for drinking. The fields behind the house are lying empty. Now they are only there to look at.” When asked how she manages household work, fetching water, farming and childcare at her age, she points towards her six-year-old granddaughter and says: “Yahi madad kar deti hai.” “She helps me.”
At that moment, it becomes clear that even childhood in this family is growing under the weight of responsibility. A look inside the house reveals the same crisis. There are only basic items necessary for everyday life. There appears to be little room to save anything for the future. Behind the house is a broken toilet without a roof. Bushes have grown inside it. The scene reflects not only economic deprivation but also the condition of basic amenities in rural life.
Sangeeta’s family illustrates that migration is not merely an employment issue. Its deepest impact is felt by those left behind. Young children grow up waiting for their parents to return during festivals instead of spending their childhood with them. Elderly family members become the primary caregivers at an age when they themselves may need support. Women are compelled to undertake wage labour even during circumstances such as pregnancy. This is not merely a livelihood crisis. It raises a larger question: Is climate change and the agricultural crisis gradually weakening the social structure of rural communities? When fields dry up, it is not only crops that decline; families also begin to fragment. Article 21 of the Constitution of India guarantees every person the right to live with dignity. A safe childhood for children, dignified motherhood for women, respect for the elderly and the opportunity to live with one’s family are all part of a dignified life. When climate change, drought and the agricultural crisis force people to migrate for survival, it is not only employment that is lost. Constitutional values such as equality, social justice and human dignity are also affected.
Recent scientific studies also point towards changing climate patterns in Panna and across Madhya Pradesh. A 2025 study published in Theoretical and Applied Climatology, titled “Compound Dry and Hot Events over Madhya Pradesh: Spatiotemporal Characteristics and Associated Climate Risks,” analysed meteorological data from 1958 to 2022. The study, by researchers Somil Swarnkar and Vikas Poonia, points towards an increase in combined heatwave and drought events in Madhya Pradesh and the associated climate risks.
Environmental expert Dr Indrabhan Singh Bundela says that forests and forest-dependent livelihoods in the Panna region have undergone significant changes over the past two decades. According to him, non-timber forest products (NTFPs) such as mahua, char and tendu were once available in abundance. A large number of tribal families depended on collecting these forest products for their livelihoods. However, their availability and collection have declined steadily over the past two decades, directly affecting rural incomes.
Dr Bundela says that rising temperatures have also contributed to an increase in forest fires. The impact has not been limited to forests; it has also affected people's livelihoods. According to him, the water crisis is also affecting irrigation systems. Over the past 10 to 15 years, several canals have become ineffective because of water scarcity, further increasing the difficulties faced by families dependent on agriculture.
He says declining forest cover has also affected the natural process of groundwater recharge. Earlier, forest soil helped retain rainwater and allowed it to gradually seep underground. With reduced forest cover, rainwater flows away more quickly. This contributes to falling groundwater levels and, at the same time, increases soil erosion, reducing soil fertility. Dr Bundela believes that the deterioration of natural resources is deepening the livelihood crisis. This is one of the reasons why migration from villages in search of employment has increased.
Dr P. N. Tripathi, senior scientist and head of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) in Panna, says climate change is having its strongest impact on kharif crops. He says that around five years ago, urad was cultivated across nearly one lakh hectares in the district. Today, the area has declined to approximately 45,000 hectares. Dr Tripathi identifies changing monsoon patterns as a major reason. According to him, rain is increasingly occurring when the urad crop is at the maturity stage. This increases moisture in the fields and changes the temperature conditions, causing the grains to turn black. This directly affects crop quality.
As a result, farmers have gradually reduced the area under urad cultivation. He says sesame and soybean cultivation have also been affected. Rainfall during the harvesting period disrupts harvesting, while moisture stress can prevent plants from developing properly. Because of these changes, farmers have reduced the area under urad, sesame and soybean over the past decade and increasingly shifted towards paddy cultivation.
Dr Tripathi says that around five years ago, paddy was cultivated on approximately 80,000 hectares in the district. The area has now increased to around 1.25 lakh hectares. However, the expansion of paddy cultivation has brought new challenges. According to him, pest and disease attacks have increased. The quality of paddy grains has also been affected, while soil compaction has increased.
Dr Tripathi explains that climate change reduces soil moisture, while rising temperatures accelerate the life cycle of plants. Wheat generally requires temperatures of around 15–20°C for suitable growth, but sudden increases in temperature raise evaporation rates. As a result, plants mature earlier than expected and yields are affected. He says wheat normally requires four to five irrigations under regular conditions. However, due to water scarcity, many farmers are able to irrigate their fields only once or twice. As a result, wheat yields are declining by approximately 10–12 per cent.
The central and state governments are implementing various programmes in Panna district to address the growing water crisis. These include tap-water schemes under the Jal Jeevan Mission, the Jal Ganga Samvardhan Abhiyan, farm pond construction and groundwater recharge measures such as dug-well recharge.
According to information provided by the District Panchayat office, drinking water is being supplied to villages through individual and group tap-water schemes. Officials said that of the 153 villages where individual schemes have been approved, schemes are operational in 135 villages. Such schemes are also operational in Sunehra and Ranipur Gram Panchayats.
According to the available data, Panna district has a total of 10,039 hand pumps. Of these, 9,655 are functional while 384 are non-functional. Among the non-functional hand pumps, 78 require repairs, while 84 cannot be restored. Another 222 hand pumps have stopped functioning because the groundwater level has fallen below their reach.
Officials say that under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), dug-well recharge structures and soak pits are also being constructed to promote water conservation and groundwater recharge. The objective is to allow rainwater to percolate into the ground and improve groundwater levels.
According to information provided by the district office, farm pond construction and groundwater recharge works were prioritised under the Jal Ganga Samvardhan Abhiyan during 2025–26. The target was to construct 2,155 farm ponds. At the time of the review meeting, 1,271 farm ponds had been completed, while work on 884 was still underway.
Similarly, a target of 1,820 dug-well recharge structures was set. Of these, 1,181 had been completed and work on 639 was in progress. The administration is also constructing recharge pits approximately six feet deep to help channel rainwater into the ground, as declining groundwater levels remain a persistent challenge in the district.
District Panchayat data highlights efforts to address water scarcity through water conservation, farm ponds, dug-well recharge and tap-water schemes. However, conversations with residents during a ground-level investigation in Kalyanpur and Ranipur villages presented a different picture. Madhav Singh, a 50-year-old farmer from Kalyanpur, says his family has been engaged in farming for three generations. Farming remains the main source of livelihood for his family. He owns around two acres of agricultural land where he grows wheat, gram and mustard every year. But farming has become increasingly difficult over the past two decades.
“Earlier, this same land produced much more. This year, the entire two-acre field yielded only 30 sacks of wheat. The production keeps declining every year,” he says. Madhav Singh points towards a private well nearly 30 feet deep on his farm. He says that around 20 years ago, the well held around 20–22 feet of water. There was enough water for irrigation.
Today, only around 8–10 feet of water remains in the same well. During summer, the water level often falls even further, making irrigation difficult. He says the impact of changing weather is clearly visible in agriculture. Winters are no longer as cold as they used to be, while summers have become longer and more intense. Rising temperatures cause soil moisture to disappear quickly, affecting crop growth. Water scarcity and changing weather patterns are also affecting the production of wheat and other crops. When asked whether any government water conservation works such as dug-well recharge or farm ponds had been implemented in the village, he said he had not seen any such structures.
According to him, neither his farm nor the surrounding area has witnessed government construction for water conservation. Former village sarpanch Ramsajeevan Yadav also confirms the groundwater crisis. He says the village has five hand pumps and two government wells for drinking water. However, falling groundwater levels have caused both government wells to nearly dry up once summer begins. He says the situation was different around ten years ago. Even during summer, the wells had enough water and villagers did not face such severe difficulties.
Today, only two of the village’s five hand pumps provide water regularly, while the remaining three have stopped yielding water. As a result, villagers increasingly depend on a limited number of water sources during summer. Ramsajeevan Yadav says insufficient efforts have been made to recharge groundwater. According to him, no dug-well recharge or similar structures have been constructed near the two government wells. He believes that if such structures had been built in time, they could have helped maintain groundwater levels.
Chhannu Adivasi, another farmer from the village, has also experienced changes in weather patterns. He says that over the past two decades, groundwater levels in most of the wells in the region have steadily declined. Wells that once had sufficient water throughout the year now begin to run low as soon as summer arrives. This has directly affected agriculture and farmers’ livelihoods.
“The weather is no longer the same. Summer starts earlier and feels more intense than before. Forests and greenery around us have also declined. It is affecting both the weather and agriculture,” Chhannu says. According to him, the early onset of heat has the greatest impact on wheat. The grains often fail to fill properly, reducing production and affecting farmers’ incomes.
Apart from government schemes, residents of Gandhigram and Kalyanpur have also begun taking community-level initiatives to address water scarcity. Arvind Adivasi, 25, from Gandhigram, says villagers decided collectively to deepen ponds that had dried up because of the growing water crisis. During March and April, two ponds were deepened to increase rainwater storage. One of the ponds is located near Kalyanpur and the other near Gandhigram.
According to Arvind, the deepening of one pond took around ten days. Around 70 -80 tribal families from the village participated in the voluntary labour. Both women and men took part in the work every day. He says villagers believe that if rainwater can be retained within the village itself, the water crisis can be reduced to some extent in the coming years.
Environmental expert Dr Indrabhan Singh Bundela believes that addressing the crisis created by climate change requires more than new government schemes. According to him, the solution lies in protecting local natural resources and ensuring community participation. He says structures such as check dams and contour trenches should be constructed in areas such as Kalyanpur and Krishna Kalyanpur to slow down rainwater runoff and allow it to seep into the ground, thereby improving groundwater recharge. He recommends using dry leaves as mulch and increasing the use of organic manure to retain soil moisture. These practices can help maintain soil fertility while allowing soil to retain water for longer periods.
Dr Bundela says local afforestation must receive special attention to address water scarcity and declining groundwater levels. He recommends prioritising native species such as neem, peepal and banyan rather than exotic species such as eucalyptus. He also suggests that the Miyawaki method could be used to develop dense vegetation in a relatively short period. However, he says ecological restoration cannot be limited to planting trees. The first step should be to restore local grasses and shrubs so that biodiversity can gradually return. Plants that attract butterflies, bees and other pollinators should then be introduced to help rebuild the natural food chain.
According to Dr Bundela, the success of such efforts depends on local community participation. He says grazing by livestock may also need to be restricted for some time in areas undergoing ecological restoration. This would give plants sufficient time to grow and allow natural regeneration to take place.
Meanwhile, Dr P. N. Tripathi, senior scientist and head of Panna KVK, believes that adapting agricultural practices to changing climatic conditions has now become a necessity for farmers. He says that in areas where temperatures are rising and water availability is declining, farmers should select crops that require less water and are heat-tolerant. According to him, crops such as sorghum, pearl millet, kodo millet, kutki, ragi, pigeon pea and gram can produce relatively better yields with less water and are more adaptable to changing weather conditions.
Dr Tripathi also recommends mixed cropping and cover cropping. He says crops such as moong and urad can be grown alongside the main crop to help retain soil moisture for longer and maintain soil quality. This can help conserve water and reduce agricultural risks to some extent. He also stresses the importance of integrating trees with agriculture. According to him, trees such as moringa, karonda and neem, which are suited to local conditions, should be planted around farms and agricultural areas. This can increase green cover, conserve soil and moisture and, over time, support the local climate.
Both experts believe that while the impacts of climate change cannot be completely stopped, their severity can be reduced through water conservation, local afforestation, community participation and climate-resilient agricultural practices.
During this investigation in Ranipur, Kalyanpur and Gandhigram, one fact repeatedly became clear: the impact of climate change is not limited to the environment. When a farmer is forced to leave farming and take up wage labour, when a tribal community becomes increasingly disconnected from forests and natural resources, the crisis goes beyond livelihoods.
It becomes a question of dignified living, equal opportunities and equitable access to natural resources. This is why climate change can no longer be viewed only as an environmental issue. It also needs to be understood as a question of social and constitutional justice.
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