1.
Developmental Interventions in the
Water Sector
Dr. M. Dinesh Kumar
Institute for Resource Analysis and Policy, Hyderabad, India
Rajasthan Priorities Conference, New Delhi ……….

2.
Why my topic is important
• The arid region of Western Rajasthan has vast amounts of arable land
but very low rainfall with high inter-annual variability
•Crops cannot grow well in this region without external water inputs.
• Construction of ‘diggis’ and renovation of ‘khadins’ would increase
agricultural productivity and farmer income
•Crop production would be possible even in undulating land
having saline groundwater, with diggis
•Crop production in the non-rainy season and raised water table
would result in the Khadin influence area, with rejuvenation

3.
More about the current state
Area under Irrigation in Rajasthan
Attributes Unit Value
Net cultivated area (western Rajasthan) M ha 11.99
Net area irrigated by surface and
groundwater sources
M ha 2.845
Total sprinkler irrigated area (ha) ha 456.86
Average command area of the Khadin Ha. 41

4.
1st analyzed solution
Expansion of Irrigation in Western Rajasthan

5.
Description of the solution
• Construction of ‘diggies’
•Lifting canal water into the ‘diggies’ and using it for irrigation through sprinkler
system
• selection of crops that are less water-intensive.

6.
All the costs
• Annualised cost discounted at a rate of 5% and assuming the life of
the system to be 10 years
•Capital Cost (economic) without the subsidy component - Rs 16,747
•Private capital cost - Rs 15,069

7.
All the benefits
• Possibility for crop production in
areas with saline ground water or
undulating terrain; reduced
irrigation water requirement with
use of sprinklers
•Incremental income with sprinklers per
ha of irrigated crop - Rs 33,9005.
•Positive externality from water saving
of 816 m3 per ha - Rs 14,986
•Social benefit – Rs 48,886

8.
Total costs, total benefits and cost-benefit ratio
Discount Rate 3% 5% 8%
Private Benefit-Cost
Benefit at 2017
prices (INR/ha per
year)
33900 33900 33900
Cost at 2017 prices
(INR/ha annualized)
13562 15069 16576
BCR 2.50 2.25 2.05
Social Benefit- Cost
Benefit at 2017
prices (INR/ha per
year)
48886 48886 48886
Cost at 2017 prices
(INR/ha annualized)
15072 16747 18421
BCR 3.24 2.92 1.84

9.
2nd analyzed solution
Renovation of Traditional Water Harvesting Systems

10.
Description of the solution
• Renovation of ‘khadins’
•Khadins are runoff-harvesting systems that store water from rocky catchments
in the soil profile of the reservoir bed, for later use in crop production.

11.
All the costs
• Annualised cost discounted at a rate of 5% and assuming the life of
the system to be 15 years
• Net present worth of the costs - Rs 7,35,875.
•Private capital cost for renovation of a khadin - Rs 5,39,894
• Maintenance cost for these 15 years, which is undertaken
5 times i.e every three years - Rs 53,989

12.
All the benefits
• Direct positive impact on
income, due to enhanced crop
production in the khadin bed;
indirect benefits of improved
recharge of groundwater.
•Net Present Worth of the Private
Benefits considering a discount rate
of 5% - Rs 18,79,888,
•Net Present Worth of the Indirect
Benefits - Rs 94,897
•Social benefit - Rs 19,74,785

13.
Total costs, total benefits and cost-benefit ratio
Discount Rate 3% 5% 8%
Private Benefit-Cost
Benefit at 2017 prices
(INR/ha per year)
2123290 1879888 1592467
Cost at 2017 prices
(INR/ha annualized)
761250
735875 705911
BCR 2.79 2.55 2.26
Social Benefit- Cost
Benefit at 2017 prices
(INR/ha per year)
2230474 1974785 1672855
Cost at 2017 prices
(INR/ha annualized)
761250 735875 705911
BCR 2.93 2.68 2.37