1. DIVERSION BASED IRRIGATION
PROGRAMME:
Case of phad systems promoted by DILASA in Vidarbhai Tata Trust
Sir Dorabji
This report presents the larger context of the diversion based irrigation (DBI) programme of SDTT and
subsequently describes phad, a diversion based irrigation system being promoted by Dilasa under its
project in Yavatmal district of Vidarbha. It thereafter goes on to discuss the livelihood systems of the
area, the relevance of the system, its uses and salient management features in the particular project
circumstances. The report looks at the adoption of these neo-traditional diversion works, as well as
aspects related to technical design; management and use; and economic viability.
DBI programme context
The Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) has been implementing a
programme on diversion-based irrigation (DBI) since early 2009
to promote the development of small scale irrigation through
diversion of water from streams. A diversion based irrigation
system is one which diverts a portion of water from a natural
stream/water course/river and uses it with or without
intermediate storage for the purpose of irrigating crops and for
other human ends. Diversion based irrigation systems have
been in vogue for possibly decades in regions that have
appropriate features.
These are known by different names in different parts of the
country: Kul in Himachal Pradesh, Tar Bandh in Mahakoshal,
This report has been
Phad in Maharashtra, Dongs in north Assam, Zebo in Nagaland,
prepared by the Diversion
Khadins in Rajasthan, Pukhar in Jhalawar areas of Madhya
Based Irrigation Programme
Pradesh and Rajasthan, Ahar Pyne in Kaimur plateau and
Secretariat of Livolink
adjacent areas of Jharkhand and South Bihar, etc. Some have
Foundation for Sir Dorabji
been destroyed by an insensitive public administration, some
Tata Trust and Allied Trusts
have fallen into disrepair, some have dried up as the hills have
as a part of its
become denuded and some have shrunk in size as social issues
documentation work on
of managing them have become complex.
community led water
initiatives. The DBI programme of the Trust aims to promote these systems
and is being implemented through 21 NGOs in 13 States of the
country, the focus being on undulating, hilly and mountainous
(UHM) regions that are poorly served by irrigation and are home
to the poorest.
“These regions are at a great disadvantage with respect to both
these sources of irrigation: the terrain lacks sites suitable for
storage of significant quantities of water and makes
Contact:
transportation of water from rivers or storage sites to the farms
Livolink Foundation
difficult and expensive; and there is too little water
1826-C-1, Siddhi Vihar
underground because of the nature of the soils, presence of
Barabari, Khandagiri
rocks close to the surface and the fact that rainwater absorbed
Bhubaneshwar-751030
by soils gets drained out to springs, rivers, floodplains and
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valleys downstream due to gravity.“ (Joshi, 2011)ii

2. Within these pockets whatever irrigation development takes place is in turn concentrated in
relatively flat pockets like valleys and floodplains. “Though potential for large schemes does not
exist, these regions do have opportunities - localized and dispersed - to harness water from
perennial and semi-perennial streams to cumulatively serve large numbers of very poor people.
Due to the terrain such water can be diverted downhill to nearby fields… Most of the projects
are in remote villages inhabited by adivasis and some also provide drinking water.” (ibid)
Phad irrigation system
The project implemented by Dilasaiii under the DBI programme in Vidarbha deals with phad
irrigation systems. Communities have across diverse ecological and sociopolitical contexts
devised myriad ways over time to harvest and manage water in order to sustain their lives and
do agriculture. Many of these systemsiv continue to function and are often more sustainable,
cost-effective and successfully managed by local institutions. “Not only the state, but also the
chieftains, service workers and women patronized and promoted the water harvesting systems
all over the country. The community participation in the management, methods of fund raising
for development activities, utilization and choice of local construction materials (integrated
approach to man-material), construction technology and architectural deployment on the
structures were highly commendable. Man, material and methods were so interwoven that the
resulted system could stand the test of time.” (Ganesh Pangare, 20??)
Phad is one such community irrigation management system prevailing in the north-western part
of Maharashtra and dates back to the early 16th century as per historical accounts. The system is
rife in the Tapi basin on rivers Panjhrav, Mosam and Aram in Dhule and Nashik districts.
Image courtesy: Dilasa
According to eminent water resources expert, R K Patilvi, the Gazetteer of Bombay Presidency,
Vol XII, Khandesh, 1880 succinctly presents the physical context within which these systems
operate and why they are suited to the topography of the area. The Gazetteer notes that the
river Panjhra in the Sahyadri range on which the phad systems were rampant “has steep
gradient and flows through rocky beds, a topographical feature conducive to construction of
diversion weirs.” (Patil, 1996) Further, the monsoon rains (June to October) contribute to the
runoff apart from the existence of a significant post-monsoon flow that can keep going
significant irrigation in winter as well as summer season. This provided the situation for building
a series of bandharas (low water diversion weirs 1 to 5 m high in stone masonry) across these
streams/ river to divert waters for agricultural use. The water level in the stream was raised by

3. the bandhara to feed the offtaking canal and pass the excess supply downstream over the top of
the bandhara which formed an overflow crest. The supply to the canal(s) was regulated by a
head regulator; the canals varied in length from a few hundred metres to seven kilometers.
Bandharas were constructed in series to arrest the supply downstream; the availability of
command area at each bandhara site was kept in mind. Care was taken to select a site with a
good foundation at a reasonable depth. Availability of a command nearby was another
consideration.
“The process of selecting the site for building the structure was carried out taking into
consideration the river base gradient and the slope of the command area… Scouring sluices were
provided at different places as per the length of the canal. This worked as an automated cleaning
device for the drainage of sand and silt. The average water discharge from the canal was 7-10
cubic feet/sec (cusecs).” (Aditya Bastola, 2012)
The design of the bandharas took a number of factors into concern -
“Except a few, built straight across the stream, dams are more or less oblique, the
watercourse issuing at the lower end. Where the rock below is not continuous, their
forms are most irregular. In building a dam, holes were cut in the rock in the proposed
line of the wall. In the holes stone uprights, sometimes small pillars taken from the Hindu
temples, were set and a dam was either built in front of these or the stones were built
into the dam leaving only the backs of the uprights visible. The dams are strong, clumsy
walls commonly sloping on both sides to a narrow top. The materials are commonly
black stone, coarse concrete mixed with small pieces of bricks and the very best cement.
Occasionally large blocks are found in the face of the wall but the inner stones are all
small. Dressed stone is seldom used for either facing. Except some small openings at the
middle or at the base, no provision seems to have been made for removing the silt. While
the dams were built with greatest care, the watercourses were laid down with strict
economy.”[Dying Wisdom, Traditional Water Harvesting Systems, edited by Anil Agarwal
et al. CSE, 1997, New Delhi, Page 188]
Phad systems on Panjhra river, Image courtesy: Aditya Bastola

4. “The height of the diversion weir was selected in such manner that the excess water from the
river was automatically removed with the help of scouring sluices. The water required for
irrigation purpose was diverted into the main canal, with the provision of scouring sluices in
between the head of the canal and the saucer. The head of the canal had no provision of gate;
the saucer and the scouring sluices present between the diversion weir and the head of the
canal regulated the water flow. The length and size of the canals varied amongst the bandharas
depending upon the size of the phad and the distance of water travelled from the site selected
for the diversion of water through the weir. The reason for the variation of size and length of the
canal was to maintain the velocity of water so that the water could flow at its own gravity till it
reached the main command area or the thal.”(ibid)
Main layout of the bandhara and its relation with the command area, Image courtesy: Aditya Bastola
The term phad here referred to the block of land used for irrigation purposes while bandhara
referred to the weir. The collection of phads (8 to 40 ha) was known as thalvii (up to 400 ha). The
phad comprised of a number of fields owned by several cultivators. The phad received water
from the bandhara diverted through the canal also known as pat. The canal had field
distributaries called assarang, while the excess water was drained back into the main stream
through sandwa or the waste weir.
Phad systems on Panjhra river, Image courtesy: Aditya Bastola

5. A study by Aditya Bastola on the social processes and the underlying facts related to the phad
system of water utilization and distribution explored the historical evolution of the structure, its
spatial specification related to the technology, cropping pattern and how the social realities
related with traditional water management system shaped these.
“The management of the phad system is under the chairman of the Bhagayat committee
(irrigators’ committee) consisting of elected members from the irrigators. Number of the
members of the committee varies from committee to committee. The membership is not
permanent, usually for 2 to 4 years, but can be changed in between depending upon the interest
of the members.” (Ganesh Pangare,??) The hereditary positions like hawaldar (supervisor)
and jakleya (watchman) were involved in maintaining the canal system. Patkaris (waterman)
used to oversee the water distribution process by operating the field gates (sasar) and the jerai
mali community (some other castes also) was involved in the construction. People used to
contribute towards the construction of the structure and these watermen used to get paid by
this means. Bandharas have also been constructed by the Britishers according to some accounts.
After the enactment of the Inam Abolition Act (1955) the community defined roles and
responsibilities have changed at places; many of the patkaris have been absorbed in Irrigation
Department service.
Elaborate rules for irrigation existed wherein water was supplied to the second phad only after
supplying adequate water to the first phad. There were no written rules in place and decisions
were made on the basis of experience. Water meeting used to be held at the village level where
cropping pattern was decided based on previous years pattern. “Usually a general meeting was
held in the month of April-May (Akshaya Tritiya) where a public announcement was made for
community management of the water harvesting structure. Each family had to provide a pair of
bullocks and 3 men for a day to maintain the system, and the family who were not able to
provide the announcement had to pay Rs. 30 for the bullock and Rs 10 for 3 men…The process of
mobilizing the village farmers for the meeting was normally through a key person of the village
who was often known as the Kotwal.” (ibid)
Numerous such systems exist and are in use and some have been repaired and modernized by
the Irrigation Department by providing iron gates at the scouring sluices or by raising the height
of the bandharas.
Uniform cropping pattern used to be followed within the phad in a season but it could vary
across phads and over the years. Paddy was grown most commonly under the phad system in
Panjhra river; other crops like maize, bajra and wheat have also been introduced now. Because
all farmers have some share of land in the main phad, an equitable system of water distribution
could be maintained. Phads are used on a rotation basis “For example in years of plentiful water,
the farmer community decides to grow sugarcane in the three phads and millet in one. But in a
year of average rain the farmers would grow two phads of sugarcane and two of millet. In a bad
year they allowed sugarcane in only one phad, grow millet in two and kept one fallow. “(Aditya
Bastola, 2012)

6. Image courtesy: ARTS
These systems though sustainable are facing a threat of being dilapidated. It is in this context
that the DBI programme’s attempt to replicate the phad systems notwithstanding in a very
different shape in the setting of Vidarbha becomes important.
The section below deals with the larger context of the Dilasa’s project area in Vidarbha before
delving into the programme achievements and impacts.
The context of Vidarbha
Area marked by small land holdings , lack of food security and tribal dominance
Vidarbha is the eastern region of Maharashtra comprising Nagpur and Amrawati divisions.
Geographically it lies on the northern part of Deccan plateau. Dilasa’s project area in Yavatmal
district lies in the Amravati division, formerly known as Berarviii.
Like the rest of the State it too has passed through a couple of land reform measures post 1947.
The land revenue system prevalent in the area prior to independence was ryotwari wherein each
plot was surveyed, the soil classified and its assessment settled. Apart from ryotwari, a large part
of the area comprised of izara villages which were held under the 'Waste Land Rules of 1865'.
Under the izara system entire villages were leased out to individuals at a low rental for a period
of about 30 years. The lessee could opt for keeping the whole village in perpetuity on payment
of 50 per cent of the fair assessment if successful in bringing a third of the land under cultivation.

7. Even today the former izardars of the area own several hundred hectares of land and continue
to dominate the local politics of the area. During the process of land distribution people were
allotted lands in parganasix. The work of consolidation of holdings was aimed at mutual
exchange of holdings to make them as compact as possible but was discontinued as the Record
of Rights was not up-to-date. Most people in the area had small and scattered fragments of
holdings across several villages making agriculture unviable. The pattern of land holdings
indicates that concentration of land still continues and disparity among the agricultural
population is very marked even after the implementation of the land reforms act.
Underdevelopment and distress
The living conditions of farmers in this region are poor compared to India as a whole. “There
have been more than 32,000 farmers' suicides in Maharashtra in a decade, of which 70 per cent
were in the 11 districts of Vidarbha region”x. All this, in spite of the fact that “Vidarbha holds
two-thirds of Maharashtra's mineral resources, three quarters of its forest resources, and is a
net producer of power”xi.
The area is marked with agricultural distress leading to suicides and the immediate trigger has
been traced to yield and price fluctuations in cotton and discontinuation of monopoly
procurement of the crop by the Maharashtra State Cooperative Cotton Growers Federation
(MSCCGF) during early 2000s. Prices offered by private traders were more than thirty percent
lower. The lag in energization of pumpsets in Dilasa’s project district - Yavatmal whose stage of
groundwater development stands at 24.48 per cent is leading to low irrigation. The cost of
cultivation of cotton, the major crop of the basin is very high as compared to the price received.
As per Planning Commission’s reportxii the average production cost per hectare in the case BT
Cotton is Rs. 16000 and the income Rs. 20100 for a yield of 10 quintal/ hectare. During 2008-09
the Cotton Corporation of India, NAFED and MSCCGF procured cotton at favorable prices thus
serving as a means of relief to the farmers. The breakdown of the cotton economy during the
last decade has led to shift towards crops like soyabean which are less risky both from the yield
and price angle. In December 2011, the Government of Maharashtra provided financial
assistance per hectare of land to cotton growers of Vidarbha affected by poor yields. Though
oranges are a major diversification in the Vidarbha region they have failed to catch up in the
area.
Thus water is the limiting factor for agricultural production and there is a need to renovate the
small irrigation structures constructed long back to provide supplementary irrigation to cotton
and soyabean. The implementation of the watershed programme has failed to take care of this.
An IWMI Tata paper notes that “Popular sentiment attributes this underdevelopment to the
stepmotherly treatment by the state. However, there are significant variations in levels of
development within the region itself which cannot be explained by state action alone. Analysis
shows that differential development in Vidarbha is also a function of natural endowments and
social ecology. High income areas are the 'mainland areas' with lower tribal population which
make more intensive use of their natural endowments. Dependability of source of irrigation is
very critical to income generation; in the absence of that, mere inclusion in a command area
means nothing.”xiii
Why small scale diversion systems? The dismal state of large irrigation projects in the project
area
At the moment there is a thrust in the region to remove backlog in sectors such as irrigation
(backlog of the order of 55.04 per cent as on 1994) and that has led to a sudden stimulus in
construction of dams of all sizes. While reliance on dams has created unsustainable cropping

8. patterns in other regions of the country, reservoirs in Vidarbha though designed for kharif, rabi
and hot weather season, have barely any demand during kharif leading to vast quantities of
water lying unused. The reservoirs serve as evaporation pans and the large carry over storages
from the previous season have more recently in 2006 led to floods.
According to a CWC report of 2007 while the extreme drought conditions and the lack of
availability of water for irrigation has resulted in numerous farmer suicides in the Vidarbha belt,
reservoirs in the region are choked up with excess water which apparently never reached the
poor farmers. The report cites data for the four main reservoirs in the Painganga-Wardha-
Wainganga basin with carry over storages way above the norm of 10 percent or less of the
capacity such as -the Upper Painganga (44 per cent on June 16), Kamthi Khairi (88 per cent),
Upper Wardha (33 per cent) and Arunawati (28 per cent). The spur in irrigation projects in the
region needs to be seen in this context. Experts have increasingly highlighted the need for a
transparent and accountable reservoir policy and reservoir operation rules.
If we look at small structures on the other hand, according to Government figures, 580 tanks
irrigate 25,190 ha in Yavatmal. These were constructed under Tribal Development Scheme or by
Zilla Parishad and Minor Irrigation Division. Dilasa’s survey shows that the actual irrigated area is
not even 1000 ha. While some structures are unused because of lack of water, others are lying
unused because of poor design. Dilasa is of the view that “it is possible to bring 25,000 ha - 70
per cent of the districts agricultural land - under irrigation in just one season at a cost of mere
Rs. 8,000 to 10,000 per ha by harnessing water from these 580 tanks - compare this with the
irrigation potential of 16 large and medium irrigation projects in the district, that collectively
irrigate just 4-5 per cent of agricultural land in the district, at an astronomical cost of Rs. 1.3 lakh
per ha.”xiv
Image courtesy: Dilasa
The murky state of irrigation utilization in Waghadi irrigation system in Yavatmal
If we look at Dilasa’s project area in Ghatanji where it introduced phad system of irrigation,
there is a medium irrigation project on Waghadi river. The project has a reservoir and a 35.7-km
long contour canal, which is divided into a number of distributaries. The command area is 6110
ha, spread in 17 villages in Yavatmal and Ghatanji tahsils of Yavatmal district. After accounting
for upstream reservation for four minor irrigation projects and local sector minor irrigation
tanks, the net yield available at the dam site is 56.594 MCM or 1.999 TMC.

9. The project started functioning in 1988. The State of Maharashtra had in the Godavari Water
Disputes Tribunal and the agreement in 1975 negotiated for entitlement of the entire yield till
the Waghadi project site. The project was included in the master plan of the Krishna Godavari
basins prepared by the Committee of Engineers appointed by Government of Maharashtra and
is widely projected as a model project in the area. The actual command today stands at just
1000 ha (14 per cent of designed command) and is not very high as compared to the
submergence area. The designed discharge of 200 cusecs at the dam headworks has reduced to
a maximum of 80 cusecs now. This is the situation in most structures in the region.
In spite of the demands on the reservoir, it is surplus and not scarcity that marks the case of
Waghadi and most other reservoirs in the basin. The water available in the reservoir is sufficient
to meet the increasing demand for drinking and irrigation at least in the normal rainfall years.
The Table below presents a picture of actual irrigation versus potential created for all the
structures in the Yavatmal Irrigation Circle. Actual irrigation in kharif is 9 percent for the major
project and in the range of 1-2 percent for medium and minor projects. Irrigation in rabi is
around 30-40 percent of the potential created for all categories of projects. The actual
irrigation in hot weather season is in the range of 90 to 210 percent but being less in absolute
terms cannot alter the total utilization which stands at a mere 23.3 percent.
Major Medium Total- Total Total
Name Lower Goki Waghadi Saikheda Upper Borgaon Medium Minor
Pus Pus
Year of construction
1971 1988 1988 1972 1990 1991
Irrigation potential constructed
Kharif 3786 4602 5316 2025 4906 1839 18688 13361 35835
Rabi 4269 2360 2261 935 2710 795 9061 13874 27204
Hot 1128 118 183 156 1292 0 1749 311 3188
Weather
Total 9183 7080 7760 3116 8908 2634 29498 27546 66227
Actual Irrigation (Average of last five years)
Kharif 339 0 31 38 237 18 325 148 812
(8.9 %) (0 %) (0.6 %) (1.9 %) (4.8 %) (1 %) (1.7 %) (1.1 %) (2.3 %)
Rabi 1544 473 560 798 1134 321 3285 4444 9273
(36 %) (20 %) (25 %) (85 %) (42 %) ((40 %) (36 %) (32 % ) (34 %)
Hot 2459 439 487 75 1577 7 2586 301 5346
Weather (218 %) (372 %) (266 %) (48 %) (122 %) (148 %) (97 %) (168 %)
Total 4342 912 1078 911 2948 346 6196 4893 15431
(47.3 %) (12.9 %) (13.9 %) (29 %) (33 %) (13.1 %) (21 %) (17.8 %) (23.3 %)
Table: Based on data accessed from Irrigation Department, Yavatmal Irrigation Circle, 2006-07
Survey conducted by SPWD-Dharamitra (2009) reveals that only 17 to 21 per cent of proposed
command area in Yavatmal received actual irrigation in case of medium and minor structures.
The situation was similar (12 to 33 per cent) for major irrigation systems except Lower Pus which
is a recently constructed project.
Hence, construction of big dams does not seem to be a solution for providing irrigation for
better and stable agriculture. Low cost small irrigation systems like phad in which the rainwater
or flowing water in the river is diverted to nearby field by constructing diversion weir and
contour canal are highly appropriate in the area. A study by ARTS, Yavatmal concluded that the
maximum irrigation potential of Vidarbha can be 40 per cent if we check all rainwater by
constructing small dams across major rivers of Vidarbha.

10. Physical and socio-economic characteristics of the project area in Yavatmal
The area receives rainfall of 800-1000 mm, the slope of the land is between 5-8 per cent and the soil
depth is 10-15 cm. This undulating topography results in soil and water erosion. Canal irrigation
amounts to five per cent of the cultivable land and well irrigation to about 1 per cent. The soil in the
area is black cotton and murrum. Low percentage irrigation and given the limitation of canal and
groundwater irrigation, small scale diversion based schemes turn out to be an appropriate option
with significant potential. The agriculture in the area is rainfed with single crop system and at certain
places cotton followed by sorghum (jowar) or pigeon pea. Tur and moong are also grown. The area
of cash crop cotton cultivation is fifty per cent of the total cultivable land.
Rabi (wheat and pea) 3
Waste land 10
Others 5
Jowar 7
Tur 5
Soyabean 20
Cotton
50
0 10 20 30 40 50
“The crop yields from such poor dry land cultivated under rainfed condition are, therefore, quite
low. Application of heavy doses of chemical fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides to hybrid crops of
foodgrains and cotton is a common practice for last 3-4 decades and has resulted in increased input
costs. The cost benefit balance has adversely affected the economy of farming community resulting
in farmer’s suicides.” (Dilasa, 2010)
The status of agriculture is pathetic as most of the land is undulated, devoid of top soil, has soil
with low water retention capacity and without any facilities of external irrigation. “Lack of
assured irrigation and hard soil in some villages were major natural constraints. Within farming,
cotton was the main crop followed by soyabean apart from some other crops covering nominal
area. The normal crop season starts with rainy season in June and ends up to January in rainfed
area and extends up to March in irrigated area.” (Joginder Singh, 20??) Only 5.4 per cent of area
of cultivable land is under irrigation. The runoff from the forests can be used for agriculture.
The district is primarily a tribal dominated one and Andh, Gond, Pardhan and Kolam (PTG) are
the main tribal communities followed by the Kunbhi, Mali and Banjara. These communities are
dependent for their livelihood on wage labor, agriculture and forestxv based activities. Sixty per
cent of the people have land holdings ranging from 3-5 acres. According to Dilasa in Yavatmal
“the external input cost in agriculture is about Rs. 6,000 and production is about Rs. 10,000 per
acre”.
Despite the land topography, they follow the conventional cropping pattern growing cotton, tur,
pulses and jowar. The area is marked by limited access to technology, low levels of rural
infrastructure and poor institutional structures. A study by Joginder Singh for SRTT revealed that
“lack of irrigation facilities was the greatest constraint farmers faced in the area. Intercropping
of cotton with pulses, particularly pigeon pea and in few cases with soyabean and moong is

11. being done. The main source of irrigation was wells and ponds from which water was pumped
out with the help of electric pumps or diesel pumps and surface water.”
Cotton (kharif crop, June-February) is gradually being replaced by soyabean and pigeon pea (tur)
as a substitute and account for 15 per cent and 18 per cent area respectively. Though soyabean
is more profitable than cotton particularly because of the poor prices in cotton it is coming up
only in a limited manner especially because it is more sensitive to water stress. Intercropping
with crops like tur is more economical for the farmers because it controls pest biologically and
minimizes risk of yield variability. Jowar continues to occupy 11 per cent area. Wheat and
redgram is grown in rabi season in just two per cent of the area.
A baseline study by Dilasa on foodgrain availability in nineteen of its project villages in Yavatmal
indicates that just about forty per cent of the farmers have food available for beyond a year and
another thirty per cent have food available for six months while the rest are highly insecure as
regards foodgrains.
less than 1 wk
Grain availability
1 week
1 month
3 months
6 months
More than 1 yr
0 10 20
30
40
Graph: Food grain availability status
This is the context of the project area in Vidarbha wherein diversion based irrigation (DBI)
programme has been taken up by the Trust.
Programme activities
Genesis of the Dilasa’s effort on phad irrigation system in Dhangarwadi
Dilasa, a Yavatmal based NGO has been working with ‘Dhangars’, a herding caste who were
traditionally shepherds, cowherds, buffalo keepers, blanket and wool weavers, butchers and
farmers in some villages of Yavatmal district, Vidarbha. Dhangars settled in Mendhla village
around 30 years ago, their hamlet within the village is called Dhangarwadi. They brought with
themselves knowledge of the ingenious technique of phad irrigation prevalent in north western
Maharashtra.
Dilasa observed how the Dhangars could successfully solve the problem of lack of irrigation in
the village. There was a government constructed minor irrigation structure, with a reasonable
quantity of seepage that took place through the main body. An enterprising Dhangar used this
advantageously to tap the seepage from the minor irrigation structure, by constructing an
earthen embankment to store water and laid down phad channels to divert water to his field.
This farmer levelled his farm and was able to irrigate around nine acres of land throughout the
year.

12. Dilasa, seeing the pros of the phad system approached the Central India Initiative (CInI) Cell, to
help replicate the system in the area. The process of introducing phad system in the area was
initiated in the year 2006. To begin with, two low-cost masonry structures were constructed for
water storage for irrigation purposes and the Dhangars were involved in adapting the design of
the phad channels along the contours.
As a part of the project, other interventions such as providing inputs for water and crop
management, particularly cotton, was also provided to the farmers. The results were
encouraging and the irrigated area under phads was increased from 9 acres to 72 acres and
assured irrigation provided for both rabi and kharif seasons. A study was undertaken to locate
twenty sites for phad irrigation using engineering survey (more later). This was to serve as a
guide and a reference document for other development agencies for scaling up the technology.
Crossing structure No.1 – Dhangarwadi phad project; Image courtesy: Dilasa
Apart from Dhangarwadi, CInI Cell supported Dilasa for developing pilot project on developing
phad irrigation system in Bhulagad and Chaparda with collaboration of SRTT and the Tribal
Welfare Department during 2006-2008. The idea of the project was to divert flowing water of
river or nallas to the field by using gravity and velocity of river or nallah water. This low cost
irrigation system could be used in kharif crop and to some extent in rabi crop also. According to
Dilasa, four different models have been constructed and tested at the field level in various
topographic and community backgrounds (details?).
Before the project in 2010-2011 under DBI programme SDTT had supported Dilasa on
development of six phad systems in Ralegaon, Kalamb, Yavatmal, Zari and Ghatanji blocks of
Yavatmal. All the villages were tribal dominated (above 58 per cent tribals) and some were fully
tribal like Madapur-1.

13. Image courtesy: Dilasa
The method is economical and unlike lift irrigation requires no energy for diverting water to the
field. CInI Cell succinctly makes a case of why DBI –“Enables poor farmers living in difficult
terrains to double their incomes by taking the second crop using diverted water flows.
Technically such schemes are feasible only in far flung, remote and tribal areas usually facing
neglect by the state. Investment is less compared to other source of irrigation. O & M cost is
less.”
Present status of phad projects developed by Dilasa
Year 2006-07 200-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11
Number of Phad 02 04 07 14 40
Farmers benefited through 36 75 135 261 713
Phad
Irrigated Area (Acre) 107 214 395 789 1400
Note: This includes all phads constructed by Dilasa
Dilasa’s project under DBI programme
The one year project (March 2010 to 2011) titled “Creation of sustainable livelihood through
convergence of phad system with government and community” implemented by Dilasa aimed to
develop and replicate a model of low cost irrigation system with support drawn in through a
Government scheme. Dilasa was to play the role of a support organization with six other
grassroot organizations playing the role of project implementation agency. The technical team of
Dilasa was to capacitate the partner NGO for uptake of phad technology. Low external input
agriculture system was to be promoted and people’s institutions developed to manage the phad
system in a sustainable manner.
A total of twenty three phads were revived/ constructed under the DBI programme. The project
envisaged to create irrigation potential of 951 acres, benefiting 181 households in 23 villages of
Yavatmal (Ralegaon, Pandharkawda, Yavatmal, Maregaon & Babulgaon , Butibori, Kinvat,
Paratwada blocks), Nagpur, Amrawati and Nanded district. Six of these villages were dominated
by OBC castes while the remaining 18 were tribal dominated. The project was to lead to
increased net returns of Rs. 20,000 annum per family per year.

14. The components that were a part of the project include: (a) community mobilization (b)
infrastructure creation/repair (c) command area development and (d) agriculture support. In this
project care was taken to revive existing irrigation systems created by the Government instead
of creating new systems. Care was taken to include domestic water provision in the design of the
phad systems.
Dilasa undertook all works through users organisation (Sinchan Samitis) and project funds were
advanced to the users’ organisation through a bank account and the payments were actually
made by them. Peoples’ contribution is also collected by the users’ organisation which manages
the entire work guided by Dilasa team. There is complete transparency and systems are being
built in the users’ organisation to manage and maintain the project once it gets over.
Survey of phad systems
Prior to the commencement of the DBI programme in the area, a study was conducted in 2008-
2009 by ARTS (a partner NGO of Dilasa) as a part of the Small Grants Programme of SRTT
regarding the potential phad irrigation system sites. Twenty phad sites were studied in details
while preliminary investigation was done for 151 sites. The study also looked at the prospect of
strengthening of the Dhangarwadi phad system. The latter involved shaping of the canal,
pipeline in crossing phad system, fixing of V-Notch for calculation of irrigation water,
construction of two crossing structures, CCT for protection of canal from silting in rainy season,
channel gates for better distribution of water to every field and horticulture promotion (wadi).
Dilasa has been along with ARTS involved in conducting training dealing with technical aspects of
reservoir survey and design of structure. The idea was to study the hydrological setting of the
area and develop a basic understanding of the diversion possibilities.
Image courtesy: Dilasa
The method followed by ARTS and Dilasa has been standardized now. Here pre-investigation of
phad irrigation system was followed by the engineering survey. This gives an exact potential of
phad system in terms of agriculture area covered under phad irrigation as well as possible phad
irrigation sites. This includes conducting (i) topographical survey and its analysis (ii) preparing
the L-section of canal alignment (iii) determining the possible agriculture area covered under
phad irrigation and (iv) finding out the present cropping pattern of existing in the area.

15. Image courtesy: Dilasa
The survey was done in five tribal blocks of Yavatmal – Pandharkawda, Zari-Zamani, Ralegaon,
Kalamb and Maregaon. The methodology adopted for the survey comprised of a visit by ARTS
team to 151 percolation tanks constructed by the Government for finding out probable phad
sites. The survey revealed that the efficiency of utilisation of water is poor; the actual irrigation
under these tanks is only one per cent of the proposed irrigation.
Out of these twenty possible sites were identified during the preliminary survey. These sites
were finalised considering the seepage water from tanks or river situated below command area
of major/medium/minor irrigation project. Many good locations were available on perennial
river or nallahs from forest area which could provide irrigation through phad system.
These conditions make for a very promising situation for scaling of phad systems at every
location in the district and in other districts of eastern Vidarbha which have ample rainfall. By
utilizing phad irrigation system at every percolation tank, the irrigation area can be increased to
70 per cent of proposed irrigation area. ARTS conducted topographic survey of 51 such locations
and data analysis showed that 1550 acres of dry land agriculture can be brought under
protective irrigation. The average cost is Rs.12,000 to 15,000 per ha as compared to
conventional system in which the cost is Rs.1,75,000 to Rs.2,00,000 per ha.
Image courtesy: Dilasa

16. Development of phad irrigation system
To begin with an intricate network of both lined and partially lined canals were used for river/
stream diversion. Sites were selected in a manner that the major constructions (head work) have
come from the government while Dilasa worked on the canal system (open channel – lined or
unlined). At times the government head work (weir) had to be strengthened or its height
increased. Dilasa took care to take permission from the panchayat as well as the Government
(respective Departments). In general, perennial streams running along the slopes have been
expertly harnessed to irrigate command areas below. In case of percolation tanks a small inlet
structure for storage was built usually below 25 m of the main structure to adhere to the
government notification. From that point onwards pipe system was laid till the farmers fields.
Community participation was restricted to the beneficiaries who managed the main canal and
sub-canals that traverse their plots. This involved underground laying of pipes at times on the
fields of those farmers who were not going to be benefitted. Conflicts that emerged as a result
were settled by Dilasa; at times the affected farmer was offered gram panchayat land below or
was offered some produce in kind (season-wise) as compensation.
Image courtesy: Dilasa
Before long, Dilasa realized the need to shift to pipe based diversion system to reduce losses.
They have been constructed without intermediary storages. Intermediate storages (small tanks)
have been suggested by Livolink Foundation recently to maximize the efficiency of the system.
Dilasa has attempted to standardize the technology and upscale it; the recent support from Axis
Bank Foundation to construct 200 phad systems is a part of this effort.
Image courtesy: Dilasa

17. Some of the aspects related to technical design that have been incorporated in the project are -
o At places such as Dhangarwadi there was a crossing of road in the route of main canal of
phad system. This led to damages in the main canal every year which in turn led to leakage
of water. There was a need to repair this every year. The rainwater from upper catchment
directly went into the main canal leading to siltation of canal. In order to overcome above
problem Dilasa constructed several crossing structures with cement pipe culvert.
o Nalla crossing structures have been constructed in the project intervention. The structure is
built with rubble masonry in 1:6 mortar and 12 inch cement pipe installed as per contour
level. This intervention was beneficial as it led to stability of the structure.
o Under the programme continuous contour trenches (CCTs) have been built. The channel
field of both structures that carry water to the field has been restructured. The shape of
both canals has been converted to trapezoidal to improve the stability of the canal. This is
being sustained regularly with low cost of maintenance. The rainwater from upper
catchment flows directly into the canal so CCTs have been constructed to avoid siltation of
canal by passing from the crossing structure from rainwater every year.
o At some places V notches have been installed in structures to calculate the quantity of water
flowing through the channel. This helped in distributing the water in an equitable manner
and helped the WUA plan for crops as per availability of water.
o At places channel gates have been constructed and water from the main channel diverted to
the field by farmers for irrigating their crops. The farmers are divided into four groups and in
each group there is 30 acres of irrigated land. The water from main channel is diverted to
this group by providing channel gates so that water flow through this channel can be
controlled and wastage of water minimized. Providing channel gates helped in (i) controlling
the flow of channel as per requirement of farmer (ii) regulating the water distribution to the
group of farmers (iii) reduction in seepage loss from the main channel.

18. Case Study of Ganpat Nagoji Atram, Mahadapur*
Dorabji Tata Trust chi madat milali dari,Ganpat cha vikas Phad sinchanane zala bhari
Mahadapur is a small backward tribal village situated on a hill top in Zari block of Yavatmal
district. The village is around 18 km away from the block headquarter and 90 km away from
Yavatmal, the district headquarters. All the households in the village rely on rainfed
agriculture and wage labour for their livelihoods.
Shri Ganpat Nagoji Atram (35), a farmer from Mahadapur belonging to Kolam, a PTG tribe has
a family of five - his wife, 2 sons and a daughter. Ganpat has 5 acres of rain-fed agricultural
land, on which he has been doing traditional farming of cotton, pigeon-pea and sorghum
since long. He used to grow 4 acres of cotton with intercropping of pigeon-pea and one acre
of sorghum.
He was getting a production of 8 to 10 quintals of cotton valued at Rs. 15000 to 18000, 5 to 6
quintals of pigeon-pea valued at Rs. 10000 to 12000 and 3 quintals of sorghum valued at Rs.
3000. In all, he got Rs 28000 to 30000 per year averaging to Rs. 5000-6000 thousand per acre.
This income was not sufficient to meet his family need of input cost, family expenses and
education of his children. This was the situation up to the year 2009 till the introduction of
phad irrigation system in the village.
In 2010, Dilasa promoted phad irrigation system in Mahadapur village and Ganpat Atram was
one of the beneficiaries of the technology. Under this irrigation system, a small check dam
has been built up through which the diversion based irrigation is being carried under gravity
without use of power (oil engine/electricity).
Ganpat benefited greatly through this system and irrigated his one acre of cotton and pigeon-
pea crop in kharif season. This year, he took production of 5 quintals of cotton and 3.5
quintals of pigeon-pea crop valued at Rs. 25000 and Rs. 15000 respectively amounting to a
total of Rs. 40000 from one acre of land. His production per acre has been enhanced to 1 to
1.5 quintals per acre and the income has increased almost 6 to 7.
SN Crops grown Crop production by adoption of Phad irrigation
Increased production per acre Total Rs.
1 Cotton 3 15000
2 Pigeon-pea 2 7000
3 Jawar 2 3000
4 Red gram 2.12 5300
5 Fodder 3.00 3000
Total 12.12 33300
He is now able to cultivate this one acre of land under rabi crop of red gram owing to
availability of water. He used to give 3 turns of water to his red-gram crop and got a
production of 2.12 quintals from his one acre of land which fetched him an income of Rs.
5300.
Thus, Ganpat has increased his crop production up to 1.5 times since the adoption of phad
irrigation. He is now satisfied with his agricultural income and realizes the need to reach this
irrigation system to more and more farmers for sustaining their livelihood.
Adapted from a case by Dilasa

19. Innovation: Introduction of Bodi phad by Dilasa
Dilasa has more recently worked on the system of bodi phad in which rainwater is
arrested and stored in a bodi and thereafter diverted to the farms to enable farmers to
carry out protective irrigation for their crops. The farmers use the bodi water or the
water from tanks especially in the dry spells in the months of July, August and
September. Generally, the farmers use this water by breaking the bodis or making a hole
at the middle of the tank embankment. This damages the bodis or tanks, and the
breakage has to be repaired every year to restore the water storage capacity.
Paddy constitutes more than eighty per cent of the total cultivable land in Gadchiroli,
Chandrapur, Gondia and Bhandara districts in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. There are old
malgujari talav’s constructed in ancient times in these districts for irrigation purposes.
Government has also constructed several tanks and bodis in this area. The irrigation of paddy
crop is being carried out through these tanks and bodis. Dilasa during field visits in the area
at Bhamaragad saw bodis constructed at the upper side of the paddy farms, meant for
percolation of water for paddy crops. This attracted the attention of Dilasa and the new idea
of bodi phad emerged. But the question was of how to implement the idea?
Dilasa studied the situation and found a suitable way out. Awareness of farmers is the most
important work in this regard; the farmers are encouraged to keep the structures intact. Inlet
and outlet of PVC pipes to these structures have been introduced (with cocks especially in the
outlet). This is helping in keeping the structure intact and in arresting the rainwater that falls
throughout the year. Dilasa has named this scheme as “bodi phad”. The work is presently
being done in eastern Vidarbha with support from Axis Bank Foundation Mumbai, Caring
Friends Mumbai and Arpan Foundation.
Adapted from a case by Dilasa
Image courtesy: Dilasa

20. Comparative data of two farmers who have increased their crop production after phad
irrigation
Shri. Maroti Marekar
S Crops grown Area in Yield in qt Before irrigation Yield in qt Through
N acre (2009-10) in Rs. irrigation
(2010-11)
in Rs.
1 Cotton 2 7 28000 13.4 67500
2 Pigeon-pea Mixed 3 10500 5 20000
3 Soybean 1 4 8000 6 12200
4 Wheat 1 7 9800
5 Vegetables 0.5 Lump sum 6500
6 Fodder 1 Lump sum 3000 Lump sum 5000
Total 49500 121000
Shri. Vitthal Ramaji Rathod
1 Cotton 5 10 40000 15 65000
2 Wheat 5 7500
3 Gram 50 kg 1500
Total 40000 74500
Shri .Maroti a farmer from village Waghapur, Yavatmal has got an extra production of Rs. 71,500 after
conversion of dryland in to phad irrigation.
Shri. Vitthal Ramji Rathod of village Khairgaon, Yavatmal has got an extra income of Rs.34,500 after
irrigation.
Advocacy, research and capacity building
Advocacy was undertaken for inclusion of diversion based irrigation method in government
policy and programme. The idea was to undertake scaling up the successful interventions to
make dent on policy environment/policy changes through advocacy and mobilization process. As
a part of this, awareness was promoted and village development plans prepared according to
existing natural resource development and management to sustain livelihood. Phad water user
associations were strengthened and water management plan was developed for domestic
animal, drinking purpose and irrigation by studying the available water sources.
Vidarbha phad network
A Vidarbha region phad network was created for the purpose of awareness on water policy and
water management. It was also to extend technical information of phad schemes to other
partners. It will advocate for legal authority for dam seepage water use apart from lobbying for
getting legal approval for the scheme as well as to include it in the list of Government schemes
like MNREGS.
A convention for attracting the attention of Government towards PHAD
A convention was organized at Dilasa at Ghatanji on 13th June, 2010 for generation of awareness
among farmers on phad sinchan. This convention was mainly organized to introduce the phad
systems among the farmers. This also served as an occasion to lobby with the Minister of Social
Justice & Empowerment, Maharashtra State, for attracting the attention of the Government of
Maharashtra towards this irrigation method.

21. Image courtesy: Dilasa
In order to publicize and reach this programme to the masses on large scale, there is a need to
convert this programme into a Government Resolution (GR). Honorable Shri Advocate Shivajirao
Moghe, the Social Justice & Empowerment Minister of Maharashtra State was present in this
convention as the Chief Guest. The Minister had assured to look into the matter of GR while
delivering his speech before a mob of around 200 farmers from Ghatanji block. A delegation of
that nature has been handed over to the Minister to take up the matter to the Legislative
Assembly.
Phad sinchan mela
Two phad sinchan mela’s were organized at Godhani Village. One of the mela’s was attended by
Shri. Vasantrao Purke, the Former Minister of Education, Maharashtra while Shri M N Khadase
(Mati Baba), Member, Soil and Water Conservation Committee, Maharashtra was present as
Chief Guest in the other mela.
Image courtesy: Dilasa

22. Invitation from Minister of Water Resources for a presentation on phad irrigation
Shri. Ajit Dada Pawar, the Minister for Water Resources, Maharashtra had invited Dilasa to
Mumbai on 30th June, 2010 for delivering a presentation on phad Irrigation. At this occasion a
delegation was handed over to him on behalf of OXFAM India Trust by Shri. Madhukar Dhas,
Director, Dilasa and Shri. Amol Sakharkar, Technical Expert, Dilasa. The phad system was
explained in detail to Shri. Patil, the Secretary of the Ministry. A file containing complete
information about phad system has been handed over to the Secretary, who assured to take this
matter in the Assembly. He expressed that, this is a very useful technology for irrigating the land
of small and marginal farmers and also extended his best wishes to the scheme. One file was
also given to the Minister of Agriculture, Maharashtra.
Conclusion
Phad system has showed its promise in Vidarbha in the condition of medium rainfall, low
irrigation potential through mainstream surface and groundwater systems, and has been able to
mitigate the risk of crop failure and yield reduction substantially. Technically, the system
provides demonstration on pipe based diversion using post monsoon flows, which in
combination with open channel irrigation is worth considering for adoption in the medium/
minor irrigation systems (like Waghadi) for increasing the system efficiency. The state needs to
consider the inclusion of development of diversion based systems like phads as one of the
activities in MNREGS programme and amend the norms to facilitate farmers groups to take
these up. An enabling Government Resolution will help Dilasa and other groups to influence
panchayats to take up such activities in their works.

23. Appendix
According to the study by Joginder Singh, the cost-return analysis of cotton crop in Yavatmal,
Vidarbha indicated that the farmer has to incur about Rs. 4800/acre in Savarkheda and 6900/acre in
Zari cluster and thus netting a profit margin of Rs. 2600/acre and Rs. 7000/acre respectively. Apart
from this, about Rs. 2200/acre is additional gain from pigeon pea which is intercropped as one to
two rows after 8 rows of cotton. It is also realized that soybean being leguminous crop can be sown
every alternative year with cotton crop to keep the soil fertile.
Table: Economics of cotton crop in Vidarbha region, 2007-08 (Rs/acre)
Item Savarkheda Per cent Zari Per cent Overall Per cent
Ploughing (Nangaran) 364 6.85 285 3.84 325 5.09
Hollowing (Wakharan) 247 4.65 191 2.57 219 3.44
Dharwadan 107 2.01 74 1.00 91 1.42
Sowing cost 105 1.98 113 1.52 109 1.71
Seed 875 16.47 760 10.23 818 12.83
Irrigation 24 0.45 51 0.69 38 0.59
Hoeing (Dawaran) 823 15.49 566 7.62 695 10.90
Weed control 500 9.41 535 7.20 518 8.12
Plant Protection 485 9.13 613 8.25 549 8.62
Fertilizer use 775 14.59 1415 19.05 1095 17.19
Picking 797 15.00 1722 23.18 1260 19.77
Transportation 211 3.97 1103 14.85 657 10.31
Total expenses 5313 100.00 7428 100.00 6371 100.00
Average yield (qt/acre) 3.42 6.10 4.76
Price (Rs/qt) 2172 2280 2226
Gross return (Rs/acre) 7428 13908 10668
Net return (Rs/acre) 2115 6480 4297
Source: Baseline survey for technology improvement of cotton crop in Vidarbha region in kharif 2007 as
part of ‘Central India Initiative’
Additional cost and return from Pigeon pea as intercrop
Item Overall (Rs)
Seed (Rs/acre) 200
Harvesting (Rs/acre) 100
Total (Rs/acre) 300
Average yield (qt) 1.0
Av. Price (Rs/q) 2500
Net return (Rs/acre) 2200
Source: Baseline survey for technology improvement of cotton crop in Vidarbha region in kharif 2007 as
part of ‘Central India Initiative’

24. Endnotes and references
i
The document has been put together by Amita Bhaduri, Society for Promotion of Wastelands
Development (SPWD) based on field work by her and Sanjay Kumar Ray, Livolink Foundation. The villages
visited include Dhangarwadi, Chichghat, Lawhana, Ichora, Shivani, Pidha, Waghapur and Pidha in Yavatmal
district. Documents of Dilasa and an earlier study by SPWD and Dharamitra on Painganga river basin
especially Waghadi sub-basin have been used for developing the document.
ii
Deep Joshi, Diversion Based Irrigation (DBI) Programme: A Review, Jamsetji Tata Trust, 2011
iii
Dilasa was set up in 1994 by a group of young enthusiastic social activists with encouragement from
Vanchit Vikas, AFPRO Ahmednagar, Dharamitra Wardha who continue to provide technical support till
date. The NGO is active in Ghatanji and Pusad area taluka of Yavatmal and works towards the holistic
development of the downtrodden and deprived sections of the society- tribal, scheduled castes, nomadic
tribes, exploited women and children- through project areas that cover watershed and irrigation
development, women’s empowerment, agricultural research and support networks for farmers and
children. Dilasa has been implementing the use of innovative irrigation techniques to enhance farm
productivity & also to ensure the creation of sustainable livelihoods by way of integrating community
cooperation and management. Its work area is spread over districts Yavatmal, Chandrapur ,Wardha and
Amravati in Maharashtra, covering over 216 village.
iv
Some of the traditional irrigation systems specific to Maharashtra are Issar , Reda Pakhal, Mott,
Rahatgadge, Malgujari Talao, Shivkalin Talao, Phad Sinchan, Earthen pots, Pahura, Pavanchakki (wind
mill), river flow contour irrigation and Bhal Kathode system.
phad irrigation was among the above systems, which has been still kept alive by the Tribals and Dhangar
community people. Maharashtra is the state where rainfall ranges from 300 to 3000 mm. per year.
v
The river Panjhra originating in the Sahyadri ranges has steep gradient and flows through rocky beds, a
topographical feature conducive to construction of diversion weirs. It receives
vi
Patil, R. K. 1996. Phad system of western Maharashtra: a trail method of water harvesting and
management by farmers. In Traditional water harvesting systems: an ecological economic survey, B. C.
Barah (ed). New Age International Publishers.
vii
The main command area was locally known as bagayat/ thal or the assured area of irrigation system and
similarly there was also an extended area known as jirayat, or the unassured area. The jirayat land
received water only in years of plentiful water flow at the Panjhra River. This land had no regulation in
cropping pattern or water distribution. Each farmer practiced individual cropping pattern and was not
related to the phad system.
viii
It was administered by the Nizam of Hyderabad until 1853 following which it was under direct British
control. It was added to the Central Provinces in 1903.
ix
A unit larger than a village.
x
Opinion / News Analysis: Maharashtra: ‘Graveyard of farmers’". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 14
November 2007. Retrieved 2012-04-22
xi
Ajit Kumar, Maharashtra Statehood for Vidarbha, EPW, 2001
xii
Planning Commission’s Report of the Fact-Finding Team on Vidarbha.
xiii
Sanjiv Phansalkar, Understanding underdevelopment in Vidarbha, IWMI Tata Water Policy Program,
Research Paper, 2002
xiv
Aparna Pallavi, Down to Earth, 20??
xv
Thirty four per cent area of the district is under forests.