Irrigation water management

contents
 Introduction
 Irrigation in India
 Irrigation in planning commission
 Irrigation policy & strategy
 CONJUCTIVE USE OF SURFACE AND GROUND
WATER
 Case study
 conclusion

Introduction
 The role of irrigation in India in
expanding crop production.
 Food production in India will become
increasingly dependent upon
irrigation.
 Over 55% of agricultural output is from
irrigated lands and production from
rainfed areas is faced with lack of land
for expansion and the prevailing risk of
drought.

Irrigation in India
 The total geographical area of land in India is
329 (exactly 328.762) m.ha. which is 2.45%
of the global land area.
 The total aerable land ( as per Food and
Agriculture Organization estimate) is 165.3
m.ha. which is about 50.2% of total
geographical area against the corresponding
global figure of 10.2%.
 India possesses 4% of the total average
annual runoff in the rivers of the world. The
per capita water availability of natural runoff is
atleast 1,100 cu.m. per year (year 2000
estimates).

 India has about 16% of the world
population as compared to only 4% of
average annual runoff in the rivers.
 With the present population of around
1000 million, the per capita water
availability comes to about 1170
m3/person/year.
 At present 141 m.ha. are used for
cultivation purposes. Between 1970-71
and 1987-88 the average net sown area
has been 140.4 m.ha. with a maximum
of 143.21 m.ha. in 1983-84 and a
minimum of 136.18 m.ha. in 1987-88

Irrigation in planning
commission
 Irrigation was given the first priority in
first,second and third,five year plans.
 Share of irrigation in the expenditure
was more than 25% during
sixth,seventh and eighth five year
plans.
 During these plan,the irrigated area is
increased in 2.4 million ha per year.
 The max potential is estimated around
140 million ha which is the target for
achievement by the year 2025.

The planning commission broadly
classified irrigation schemes into 3 types in
the year 1978-79
 Major irrigation projects:
projects with cultivable command area
of 10000 ha and above.
 Medium irrigation projects:
of 2000 ha to 10000 ha.
 Minor irrigation projects:
of less than 2000 ha

Irrigation policy & strategy
 Considering the urgent need of
evolving a national water policy , the
irrigation commission has
recommended for the creation of
national water resource council.
 This runs under prime minister’s
supervision. It deals about the
problems and remedies of irrigation
works such as water conservation,
water use and inter basin transfer of
water.

 In Haryana and Punjab-Drainage and
reclamation problems
 Madhya pradesh- Large scale
sprinkler system
 Maharastra- Drip irrigation system
 Andhra pradesh- watershed
management, desilting tanks,
construction of percolation tanks.
 In tamilnadu- since paddy requires a
huge amount of water, it results in
water logging and increase in salinity
of the soil.

CONJUCTIVE USE OF
SURFACE AND GROUND
WATER
 When well water and canal water are
used in accordance with need, such
system is called conjunctive use of
water.
 Large quantity of water is conserved in
the reservoir and productivity of water
is also enhanced ,but this system for
its sustainability ,requires water
percolation measures.

METHODS
 Sprinkler irrigation system
 Drip irrigation system
 Tank modernization
 Farmers participation
 Re-use of waste water
 Inter-basin transfers.

Sprinkler irrigation system
 This system prevent the seepage
losses and to have controlled
irrigation.
 Many seed farms and nurseries are
being successfully raised under this
system.
 30-40% water is saved under this
system.
 This system is gaining importance in
dry areas of Madhya pradesh, Andhra

Drip irrigation system
 In india wells nearly contribute to 30%
of the total irrigated area in the country.
 In many states the ground water table is
fast depleting. As a result many wells
have become dry and abandoned.
 Drip irrigation system is becoming
popular in Madhya pradesh and
Maharastra.
 Banana,Grapes,Vegtables and sugar
cane etc.,are being successfully grown.
 40-70% of water is saved and crop yield
is increased from 10-100%.

Tank modernization
 About 2 lakh tanks in india,but majority of
these tanks are associated with
problems like
encroachment,siltation,poor tank
structures and lack of farmers
cooperation.
 To reduce the conveyance losses, the
irrigation strategy must include sluice
modification, canal lining,provision of
additional wells in ayacut,catchments
development and on farm development
works. These are imfact the important
components of tank modernization.

Farmers participation
 Many studies on irrigation development
disclose that the farming community
must be made active participants in all
phases of planning,
implementation,operation and
maintenance activities.
 This can be achieved by creating water
users associations to solve the problems
of water use.
 All the problems like unequal distribution
of irrigation water, water logging,salinity
,low productivity and income etc., solved
through the associations

Re-use of waste water
 The demand for water is continuosly
increasing due to the need for
increased agricultural production and
its ever-increasing demand in industry
and urban areas.
 Large quantities of industrial waste
water and drainage water are not
reclaimed at present. Therefore waste
water reclamation and reusing the
water is an urgent need especially in
drought areas.

Inter-basin transfers
 An interbasin transfer is a transfer of
water from one river basin to another.
 The problem of water scarcity can be
overcome by inter basin water
transfer.
 This means the rivers,which carry
adequate water should be conected
by constructing canals and reserviors.

Case study: Samrat Ashoka
Sagar Irrigation Project
• Location:
vidisha district in Madhya pradesh.The dam itself has
been constructed on the Halali River, which is a
tributary of Betwa River about 40 km. from Bhopal.
 Date Built:
commenced the project in 1973-74. The main dam was
completed in 1977, while the main canal was completed
in 1978.
 Command Area:
The gross command area of the project is 37419 ha
and the culturable command area is 27 924 ha.
 Irrigated Area:
The Annual irrigated area is as follows:
a. Rabi (1st November to 31st March) 25 091 ha.
b. Kharif (15th July to 15th October) 12 545 ha

Organization/Institutions
involved, including users
participation
 The Participatory Irrigation Management Act of
Madhya Pradesh brought about a total change in the
management of irrigation systems though Farmers
Organization (FO). The Act envisaged the creation of
a three-tier system:
 a) Water Users Associations (WUA) at the base level,
 b) Distributory Committee (DCs) at the distributory
level,
 c) Project Committee (PCs) at the Project (main)
level.
 All minor irrigation schemes in the state have only
one tier of FOs (WUA), the medium size irrigation
schemes have a two tier structure (WUA and PC) and

 The Samarat Ashok Sagar Project is a
major irrigation project and thus it has all
the three tier of farmer organizations.
 The command area of the Samarat
Ashok Sagar Project has been divided
into
 1 Project Committee (PC) for the entire
area.
 3 Distributory Committees (DC) at the
Distributary level
 16 WUA at the base (on-farm) level

Election of WUA
o All water users in the area of each WUA is a member of that
WUA.
o The Act provides with voting rights, to those members who
have been registered as owners or tenants in the records.
o The WUA has a managing committee, which attends to the
day-to-day functioning. This body has a president and
executive committee, who are elected directly by all
landholders through secret ballot.
o The operational area of every WUA is divided into territorial
constituencies with equitable representation of voting
members in that area.
o The president of the WUA or any member of the Executive
Committee can be recalled by the members after a period of
one year by giving written notice; signed by not less than one
third of the members. While direct elections take place for the
WUA, election to both the Distributory Committee and the
Project Committee are indirect. Only the Presidents of the 16
WUA participate in these.

Co-Ordination with WRD
 The officials of the Water Resources
Department support the WUA in the
following ways.
 Provide Technical Assistance
 Ensure safety (structural) of system
 Help the farmer organization in
preparation of estimates for operation
and maintenance
 Help in prioritizing works

Functions of WUA
 To prepare and implement a Warabandi
schedule for each irrigation season,
 To prepare a plan and carry out the
maintenance of the irrigation system
 To regulate the use of water among the
various pipe-outlets
 To monitor water availability for irrigation.
 To raise financial resources for system
upkeep,
 To promote water use efficiency,
 To conduct regular water budgeting and
periodical social audits.

Functions of the Distributory
Committee (DC)
 To prepare a plan for the maintenance
of both distributaries and corresponding
drains; at the end of each cropping
seasons,
 Execute maintenance works, with
committee-assigned funds, as required,
 To regulate the use of water among the
various water users associations; under
its area of influence,
 To monitor water availability for irrigation,

Functions of Project
Committee (PC)
 To approve, at the beginning of each
irrigation season, an operational plan
(based on itsassigned area, soil type and
cropping pattern) prepared by the
competent authority for theentire project
area,
 To approve a plan for the maintenance of
irrigation system, including the major
drains, at the end of each cropping
season,
 Execute the maintenance works, with
committee-assigned funds, as required,

Syatem performance
 Agricultural and water productivity
 Equity of water distribution
 Farmers’ satisfaction
 Water Service Fee Structure

conclusion
 It needs to be noted that in India most of the
post-independence activities in the irrigation
sector have been construction-driven. The focus
was on creating more and more irrigation
potential and less attention was paid to the
management and maintenance of the systems.
As a result of this, a huge gap has developed
between created and utilized irrigation potential.
 The farmer organizations have gladly accepted
this new responsibility of and have not allowed
the lack of funds to prevent them from
undertaking up proper maintenance works, within
their financial capacity. They have raised their
own resources where ever necessary and have
contributed their labor free of charge to help line
the canal banks, clean the canals etc.

Referances
 Samrat Ashoka Sagar Irrigation Project Prepared by Ganesh
Pangare, Rajat Hooja and Nitin Kaushal;January 2003.
 Ministry of water resources.
 “Participatory Irrigation Management in Madhya Pradesh” in
India

Irrigation water management

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