Irrigation-Perspective, Problems&Solutions: K. Ramasubba Reddy

Irrigation has been a high priority in economic development since 1951; more than 50 percent of all public expenditures on agriculture have been spent on irrigation alone. The land area under irrigation expanded from 22.6 million hectares in FY 1950 to 59 million hectares in FY 1990, an increase of 161 percent in four decades. This increase was about 33 percent of the estimated potential. The overall strategy has been to concentrate public investments in surface systems, such as large dams, long canals, and other large-scale works requiring huge outlays of capital over a period of years, and in deep-well projects that also involve large capital outlays. Shallow-well schemes and small surface-water projects, mainly ponds (called tanks in India), have been supported by government credit but were otherwise installed and operated by private entrepreneurs. Roughly 42 percent of the net irrigated area in FY 1990 was from surface water sources. Tanks, step wells, and tube wells provided another 51 percent; the rest came from other sources.

Declining Trends in area irrigated during the nineties :

For agricultural production, irrigation is the most important input after seed, and the most important element of public capital formation. Growth in coverage of irrigated area in all the main crop categories has slowed in the nineties. For oilseeds and cotton the area has actually declined. While the slow expansion of irrigation is a serious cause for concern given the low coverage, public expenditure may not be the only factor governing this lack of movement.   Trend Growth Rate in Area    (% per Year)

Period	1980-81 to 90-91	1990-91 to 96-97	96-97 to 03-04
Gross irrigated area	2.28	2.62	0.51

Public Expenditure on Irrigation and Flood Control

Period	Nominal expenditure	WPI(Base (1993-94=100)	Real expenditure 1993-94 prices
Third Plan -1961-66	665	9.0	7402
Fourth Plan 1969-74	1,354	16.0	8484
Fifth Plan 1974-79	3,877	25.7	15.095
Sixth Plan1980-85	10,930	42.5	25,717
Seventh Plan 1985-90	16,590	58.5	28,349
Eighth Plan 1992-97	31.399	110.7	28,354
Ninth Plan1997-2002	63.010	147.2	43,817
Tenth Plan2002-07	1,03,315	186.3	55,450

From the above data on expenditure on irrigation, we find that expenditure on irrigation has not declined in the nineties. Clearly now the reasons for the slowing of an already low rate of expansion of irrigated area must be sought elsewhere. Researchers on irrigation and water usage speak of three deficiencies in the area of public provision of irrigation, namely deficiency at each of the levels of planning, implementation and management pointing towards poor governance. Effective governance requires institutional reform and needs to be addressed explicitly if efficiency in the use of the resource most valuable to agriculture after land is to be increased. Inefficient use of water under the current arrangements in irrigation management are said to lead to environmental degradation via water logging and induced salinity.  Given the low correlation between expansion in area irrigated and expenditure on the same, implied, there is an urgent need for review of usage of funds allotted to this sector.

Existing distribution of farms is highly skewed. Small and marginal farms together account for 78 per cent total Farm House Holds (FHHs) in 1990/91, commanding 32 per cent of the total area operated. Irrigation retains its crucial role in productivity-led agricultural production growth, in alleviating poverty and in reducing inequality in income distribution in rural areas. Large farms have captured disproportionately larger share of irrigation benefits as compared to the small and marginal farms. For instance, marginal farms, accounting for 59 per cent of the total FHHs had only 21 per cent of net irrigated area and same per cent of canal irrigated area. On the contrary, large farms with more than 4 ha holding size, accounting for 8.7 per cent of the total FHHs had 35 per cent of the net irrigated area and 36 per cent of canal irrigated area. NCAP

The hard rock aquifers, which cover two-thirds of India’s geographical area, have very poor storage potential, and that these regions have too little surface water in their basins in bad years for storing in aquifers. In years of good monsoon, these poor aquifers get fully replenished and do not offer any space for extra storage.
But, we do not get any surplus run-off from catchments of these basins for storing in the empty aquifers during the drought years. Also, water demand for agriculture goes up exponentially during such years.
Unfortunately, the water supply and demand situation in India with respect to space and time is such that the only way to “operationalise” the idea of groundwater banking is to transfer surplus run-off from perennially water-rich basins to water scarce areas with depleted aquifers in years of droughts. EPW

A P micro irrigation project to benefit over 5 lakh acres :

The Andhra Pradesh Government is negotiating with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for a Rs 8,547-crore loan to meet the funding requirement for a State-wide micro irrigation project. Talks are already underway with the Israeli Government and companies for efficient water management through micro-irrigation network. The Government has drawn up a perspective plan to provide water to 5,40,000 acres through the proposed system. BL 280909

South west Monsoon deficit 23% :

The four-month southwest monsoon ended with a deficiency of 23 per cent — making it the worst season since 1972, when the deficiency was 24 per cent. Out of the 533 meteorological districts in the country, 41 districts (8 per cent) recorded “scanty” rainfall or a deficiency of over 60 per cent, and 270 more (51 per cent) recorded “deficient” rainfall or a deficiency of between 20 per cent and 59 per cent. 23 out of the 36 Met sub-divisions in the country (as much as 64 per cent) received deficient rainfall led by western Uttar Pradesh (43 per cent) and west Rajasthan (41 per cent) in the northwest and Telangana (35 per cent) in peninsular India.  TH021009