Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
(2011)
WATER GOVERNANCE AND COMMUNITY BASED MANAGEMENT OF WATER RESOURCES IN WEST- BENGAL
PREPARED AT:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction.Pg7 2. Scope of this Document & Methodology Adopted.Pg9 3. Purpose of this Document..Pg10 4. Water as a Natural Resource and Economic Good..P11 5. Decentralization And ParticipationPg12 6. History of Pani Panchayat in IndiaPg14 7. Status Of Participatory Irrigation Management: Policy Initiatives & Emerging IssuesPg16 7.1.Objectives Of PIM...........Pg16 7.2.Necessity Of PIMPg17 7.3.Provision In National Water Policy.........Pg18 7.4.Provisions In PIM Act.........Pg18 8. Function Of WUAs........Pg19 9. Law Enabling WUA..Pg20 9.1) 9.2) WUA As A Legal EntityPg22 Basic Facts About And Objectives Of WUAPg23
10. Mentoring And Troubleshooting.Pg23 11. Financial Viability Of WUAs..Pg24 12. Viability And Entitlements Of Water..Pg26
-NABARD SUMMER PLACEMENT SCHEME, NABARD WB RO2
13. Questionnaire Conducted With WRIDD And Data Collected From The Nadia DistrictPg27 14. Conclusion And RecommendationsPg35 15. References...Pg38
ABBREVIATIONS
1. ADBAsian Development Bank 2. FA...............Farmer Association 3. Govt..Government of India 4. M&E...............Monitoring and Evaluation 5. NGO...............Non-governmental Organization 6. PIM..Participatory Irrigation Management 7. WRIDD..Water Resources Investigation and Development Department 8. WU.Women Union 9. WUAWater User Association 10. BCBeneficiary Committee 11. DTWDeep Tube Well 12. GOWB.Government of West Bengal 13. GP....Gram Panchayat 14. HDTWHeavy Duty Tubewell 15. LDTW..Light Duty Tubewell 16. MDTW....Medium Duty Tubewell 17. MOU...Memorandum of Understanding 18. SCASpout Command Area
-NABARD SUMMER PLACEMENT SCHEME, NABARD WB RO4
CANDIDATES DECLARATION
I hereby declare that the work presented in this project titled Water Governance and Community Based Management of Water Resources in West- Bengal submitted towards completion of Summer Placement Scheme at Natural Resource Management Centre (NRMC), National Bank for Rural & Agriculture Development (NABARD), Kolkata. It is an authentic record of my original work pursued under the guidance of Mr. M. K. De. I have not submitted the matter embodied in this project for the award of any other degree.
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the above declaration made by the candidate is correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
I express my deepest gratitude to Natural Resource Management Centre (NRMC), NABARD, for providing me with the internship. I express my sincere thanks to Smt. T. S. Raji Gain, General Manager, NRMC for her great support and advise. I am also very grateful to my immediate supervisor Mr. M K. De, AGM, NRMC for his invaluable support and guidance and for being instrumental in the completion of the project with his complete guidance. Finally, I take this opportunity to extend my deep appreciation to my family and friends, for all that they meant to me during the crucial times of the completion of my project.
1. Introduction
A Water User Association (WUA) is a co-operative association of individual water users who wish to undertake water-related activities for their mutual benefit. The specific nature of the service that a WUA provides will differ from case to case: as the name suggests, a water user association is an institution that serves its members. Because member needs will differ from one area to another, a WUA is normally established in response to the aspirations of its members. That is, its design conforms to their specifications. A WUA may be established for a range of activities including stream flow reduction, treatment of effluent and waste and its disposal and control the use of water for recreational and/or environmental purposes. Upon establishment, a WUA will carry out its principal functions as contained in its constitution. Alongside its principal functions, a WUA may have a range of other functions that affect its structure and management. In terms of the National Water Act, such functions may be performed only if they do not limit the capacity to perform the organizations principal functions or financially prejudice the institution and its members. A common example of such an ancillary function is the provision of management services and training to water services institutions and rural communities. An additional example, which is explored in some detail in this document, is the use of a WUA as an institution through which the empowerment of the poor can be facilitated by boosting agricultural production. Soon after independence when dams and reservoirs were considered the modem temples for development, very little was done to consult and comply with the needs of the user community. It was in 1987 when the National Water Policy advocated Participation of users as one of the instruments for achieving the goal in water resources sector. Under the World Conference on Science (2001) declaration of the follow-up activities suggested under Section 1.2 of the Science Agenda Frame work for Action indicate through participatory mechanisms involving all relevant sectors and stakeholders, governments should identify the needs of the nation and give priority to support for the public research needed to achieve progress in the various fields, ensuring stable funding for the purpose. Also Section 2.3 highlights Research specifically aimed at addressing the basic needs of the population to be given a priority. Even though participation existed in several Natural resources management sector at various levels, the formalization o f the process of participation commenced with the External-funded projects. At present there are several organizations to ensure participation at various forms and levels through-out the country. While the success of such organizations in implementing a project is highlighted, the present status of such organizations and their future are not known. The West Bengal Act, 2005 though has several reservations on this subject; clearly is a positive step towards involving user participation and recognition of the same by the state.
-NABARD SUMMER PLACEMENT SCHEME, NABARD WB RO7
In this attempt an effort is made to compile the various types of water users association that exist in the state of West Bengal, highlight its strength and weakness and bring about a wise practice document on the subject. While WUAs are ideally both wholly controlled by and accountable to their members, they also impact upon the overall quantity and quality of the water resources in the area in which they are located. The activities of one WUA may impact upon those of another WUA situated further downstream, so that there is also a need to plan the utilization of the resource amongst WUAs. This introduces a new element to the management of WUAs, namely that the manner of control of water resources utilization within a WUA can be seen as the basic building block of a broader (sub)catchment management strategy. It is also often argued that the handover of system management to actors in civil society will give actors a stake in the creation of an efficient system. Thus, it is argued, user-managed WUAs as proposed by the National Water Act hold the potential to become more efficient than state-managed WUAs. For users, partnering with the state in the management of WUAs means access to state resources such as grants and subsidies, as well as influence over the management of water resources at a higher level than that of the WUA. In the case of developmental WUAs, partnering with the state can provide access to knowledge through state sponsored capacity building efforts. This can lead to increased independence in the long term as members become less dependent of external support for the management of their service. There are thus significant advantages to members of WUAs and to government officials in seeing WUAs as an interface between the state and society rather than an organization that serves the interests of one of the two parties only. Internationally, the last two decades have seen a rapidly growing number of countries transferring the management of previously state managed irrigation systems to users 1. Many countries strove for a complete management transfer coupled to complete state withdrawal. However, there is now growing international evidence of the need for continued albeit significantly reduced state support to WUAs especially in the context of developmental WUAs. WUAs differ enormously from one another in their geographical scale of operation. One reason for this is that they are often federated upward in up to three tiers, each of which covers an area of operation of an entirely different order and performs substantially different functions for its members or member organizations. Another reason is that the size of member landholdings can differ substantially from one area to another.
founded analytical perspective for understanding the entire dynamics at work in the making of water sector policies and working of regulatory regimes in varied contexts in India.
10
See, e.g., Dublin Statement on Water and Sustainable Development, International Conference on Water and the Environment, Dublin, 31 January 1992.
3
John Briscoe & R.P.S. Malik, Indias Water Economy: Bracing for a Turbulent Future (New Delhi: The World Bank and Oxford University Press, 2006).
5
See, e.g., Section 26, Madhya Pradesh Irrigation Act, 1931 and Section 3, Madhya Pradesh Regulation of Waters Act,
1949.
6
See, e.g., Section 17(1)d, Uttar Pradesh Water Policy, 1999. Section 4(2), Maharashtra State Water Policy, 2003.
See, e.g., World Bank, India Water Resources Management Sector Review Report on the Irrigation Sector (Report No. 18416 IN, 1998).
11
of water. 9 This strategy is already being implemented in the context of irrigation water where farmers are made to pay for operation and maintenance costs. 10 This has also been introduced under the Swajaldhara guidelines, which suggest that water users have to take up partial responsibility for the capital cost of new drinking water infrastructure and full responsibility for operation and maintenance. 11 The notion of cost recovery is directly linked to the environmental component of water sector reforms. Indeed, they are conceived as part of a single strategy. 12 Further, cost recovery is, for instance, seen by the Asian Development Bank as the first instrument for conserving water. 13
Water sector reforms are also based on the need to foster decentralization and participation that involves water users. 14 This is meant to provide a framework for decentralizing decision-making to the lowest level and to allow beneficiaries and other stakeholders to be involved from the project planning stage. 15 The rationale for decentralization is the perceived inability of the state to deliver appropriate benefits. The state is thus called upon to change its role from that of a service provider to that of a regulator. 16 In the case of irrigation, for instance, this implies transferring part or full control of irrigation systems to users by both allowing them and forcing them to take responsibility for the upkeep of irrigation systems as well as for the financial costs involved and for sharing the water allocated among themselves. 17 In principle, participation is conceived as an umbrella term that covers participation from policy planning and project design to the management of water infrastructure. In practice, the focus is on participation at the tail end of the process. In fact, the word participation is some sort of a misnomer. On
9
See, e.g., World Bank, India Water Resources Management Sector Review Report on the Irrigation Sector (Report No. 18416 IN, 1998).
11
10
Section 3(1), Ministry of Rural Development, Guidelines on Swajaldhara, 2003. Section 2(b), World Bank, Water Resources Management (OP 4.07, February 2000).
12
See Section E, Asian Development Bank, Water for All The Water Policy of the Asian Development Bank (2003) whose first sub-section number 43 is entitled cost recovery. Dublin Statement on Water and Sustainable Development, International Conference on Water and the Environment, Dublin, 31 January 1992.
14
13
15
See, e.g., Section 6(8), National Water Policy, 2002. Section 37, Asian Development Bank, Water for All The Water Policy of the Asian Development Bank (2003). See, e.g., Section 17(1), Uttar Pradesh Water Policy, 1999.
16
17
12
the one hand, what is envisaged is not so much the possibility for farmers and users to participate in taking decisions affecting them but the blanket imposition of a new system of local water use and control scheme based on commercial principles even where there may be successful systems of water governance already in place. On the other hand, the participation, which is envisaged at the local level, is not the participation of everyone using water. With regard to irrigation, the focus has been on land ownership and occupation as a basis for governing the use and control of water. With regard to drinking water, new measures put the ability to pay as the governing principle. Both measures are likely to reinforce existing inequalities in access to water. Two different types of measures have been introduced to foster participation with regard to irrigation water and drinking water. The rest of this section examines water user associations set up to foster participation in irrigation and Swajaldhara, a scheme devised to foster participation of users in drinking water provision. Water user associations schemes (WUAs) have been introduced in different forms in different parts of the country and different areas of the world. However, a number of common characteristics can be identified in many schemes. This includes the fact that WUAs are meant to be governed and controlled by people that both pay for the services the association offers and receive benefits. WUAs are not commercial entities but they have to be financially independent and therefore need to receive an income that is sufficient to allow them not to go bankrupt. Further, WUAs are in most cases subject to regulatory control by the state because they are deemed to provide a service of benefit to the public. 18 The setting up of water user associations (WUAs) has been taken up with increasing intensity over the past decade and a number of states have introduced WUA legislation. These range from Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh to Orissa and Rajasthan. 19 These acts have been adopted at different points in time and the schemes proposed have evolved over time even though the basic principles are fairly similar in each situation.
See Stephen Hodgson, Legislation on Water Users, Organizations A Comparative Analysis (Rome: FAO, FAO Legislative Study 79, 2003).
18
Andhra Pradesh Farmers Management of Irrigation Systems Act, 1997; Madhya Pradesh Sinchai Prabandhan Me Krishakon Ki Bhagidari Adhiniyam, 1999; Orissa Pani Panchayat Act, 2002 and Rajasthan Farmers Participation in Management of Irrigation Systems Act, 2000.
19
13
Apart from this, Pani Panchayat has specific rules that are hereunder: Water rights are not attached to land rights. If land is sold, the water rights revert back to the farmers' collective. All members of community, including the landless have right to water. The beneficiaries of the panchayat have to bear 20 percent of the cost of the scheme. They have to plan, administer and manage the scheme and distribute water in an equitable manner. The central philosophy of the Pani Panchayat is to share water on certain commonly agreed principles. Evolution of the present concept of participatory irrigation management (PIM) Irrigated agriculture has increased its importance as a source of food security, higher farm incomes, and increase in welfare of both rural and urban population. The development of irrigation played an important role in generating food surpluses that have led to economic development. However, going by the trend all over the country, it was found that the irrigation potential, created of late, is not being fully utilized and so also the level of productivity that is well below the viable levels due to several problems in the management of the irrigation system. Some of the key problems are; unreliable and inadequate water supply to the farmers, collective tail-end deprivation, inadequate maintenance resulting in loss of carrying capacity, lack of information on water supplies to users and increased cognitive distance in the hierarchy resulting in poor communication and operation. Taking into consideration the above shortcomings, the need for a paradigm-shift in the management of irrigation systems through participatory irrigation management (PIM), involving farmers, is being intensely felt. The National Water Policy of 1987 has strongly recommended the adoption of PIM as an essential strategy for improvement in the performance of all irrigation projects in the country and involvement of farmers in various aspects of management of the irrigation system; especially in water distribution and collection of water charges. It is now being felt that unless farmers are involved in an organized way in the operation, management and maintenance of irrigation system, the objective of increased utilization and production from irrigation commands cannot be realized and even if realized, it cannot be sustained in the long run. Hence, to create a structure for participation, a water user association is usually set up with all the beneficiary farmers as members and it offers considerable scope to improve the present situation. The objectives of the PIM are, to improve service deliveries through better operation and maintenance, to ensure physical sustainability of irrigation infrastructure, and to promote a sense of partnership between the farmers and the irrigation agency. This operational objective of PIM is to transfer the irrigation management at appropriate levels from government to users association which is defined as the Irrigation Management Transfer (IMT) that goes side by side with PIM. IMT does not include transfer of ownership, which otherwise is termed as privatization. The ownership of the irrigation scheme and infrastructure etc still remain with the government. IMT in managerial sense may include turning over partially management responsibilities viz. water delivery,
-NABARD SUMMER PLACEMENT SCHEME, NABARD WB RO15
operation and maintenance etc and may not include collection of water cess from farmers. There are two basic institutional arrangements in the devolution of irrigation management. They are: (1) Rights, responsibility and powers to be included in the devolution of irrigation management through creation of supporting legal framework, and (2) Organizing WUA, train future managers, make essential repairs and formalize agreements between water users and the government. PIM is the single most important step that the government can take to improve the productivity and sustainability of irrigation systems. Not only it improves the productivity of irrigation, but also it requires minimum investment. Hence PIM needs to be seen as a genuine partnership or joint management between the farmers and government and not merely as an instrument for facilitating the implementation of government schemes and programmes. For this programme, appropriate institutional arrangements and mechanism to bring about efficient utilization, equitable distribution and sustainable irrigation service are framed by different states of India.
3. To achieve optimum utilization of available resources through sophisticated deliveries, precisely as per crop needs. 4. To achieve equity in water distribution. 5. To increase production per unit of water, where water is scarce and to increase production per unit of land where water is adequate. 6. To make best use of natural precipitation and ground water in conjunction with flow irrigation for increasing irrigation and cropping intensity. 7. To facilitate the users to have a choice of crops, cropping sequence, timing of water supply, period of supply and also frequency of supply, depending on soils, climate and other infrastructure facilities available in the commands such as roads, markets cold storages, etc., so as to maximize the incomes and returns. 8. To encourage collective and community responsibility on the farmers to collect water charges and payment to Irrigation Agency. 9. To create healthy atmosphere between the Irrigation Agency personnel and the users.
Government on operation and maintenance of the old system appears difficult. Thus, farmers have to take up this responsibility themselves in order to avoid over burdening of the Government exchequer and to become self-dependent. c) O&M cost and recovery of irrigation charges: This aspect has already been discussed elsewhere which indicates that O&M cost is much higher than the recoverable irrigation charges as per present rate. Even these low rates are not being recovered in full. Often the cost of recovery of water charges by Government is more than the amount recovered. This is causing severe budget constraints to Government and consequently O&M could not be properly carried out resulting in system deficiency and unreliability of irrigation water to farmers. The Water Users Associations could play this role in a better way. d) Other compulsions: Besides above aspects, there are other compulsions like non availability of water when it is needed, taking immediate problems like leakages, adopting flexibility in water distribution and taking many more initiatives by farmers group to make their farm economy a sustainable proposition, PIM appears extremely necessary and worthwhile.
a. Water Users Association (WUA): will have a delineated command area on a hydraulic basis, which shall be administratively viable. Generally a WUA would cover a group of outlets or a minor. b. Distributary Committee: will comprise of 5 or more WUAs. All the presidents of WUAs will comprise general body of the distributary committee. c. Project Committee: will be an apex committee of an irrigation system and presidents of the Distributary committees in the project area shall constitute general body of this committee.
The Associations at different levels are expected to be actively involved in: (i) maintenance of irrigation system in their area of operation; (ii) distribution of irrigation water to the beneficiary farmers as per the warabandi schedule; (iii)assisting the irrigation department in the preparation of water demand and collection of water charges; (iv) resolve disputes among the members and WUA; (v) Monitoring flow of water in the irrigation system etc.
8. Functions of WUAs:
This section is intended to clarify the functions of a WUA. In doing so, it also intends to provide some clarity on the question how WUAs should be delineated from and link in to umbrella structures of water resource management. The Water Users Association shall perform the following functions namely: (a) to prepare and implement a warabandi schedule for each irrigation season, consistent with the operational plan, based upon the entitlement, area, soil and cropping pattern as approved by the distributary committee, or as the case may be, the project committee; (b) to prepare a plan for the maintenance of irrigation system in the area of its operation at the end of each crop season and carry out the maintenance works of both distributary system and minor and field drains in its area of operation with the funds of the association from time to time; (c) to regulate the use of water among the various pipe outlets under its area of operation according to the warabandi schedule of the system; (d) to promote economy in the use of water allocated; (e) to assist the revenue department in the preparation of demand and collection of water rates; (f) to maintain a register of landholders as published by the revenue department; (g) to prepare and maintain a register of co-opted members; (h) to prepare and maintain an inventory of the irrigation system within the area of operation; (i) to monitor flow of water for irrigation; (j) to resolve the disputes, if any, between the members and water users in its area of operation; (k) to raise resources; (l) to maintain accounts;
-NABARD SUMMER PLACEMENT SCHEME, NABARD WB RO19
(m) to cause annual audit of its accounts; (n) to assist in the conduct of elections to the managing committee; (o) to maintain other records as may be prescribed; (p) to abide by the decisions of the distributory and project committees; (q) to conduct general body meetings as may be prescribed; (r) to encourage avenue plantation on canal bunds and tank bunds by leasing such bunds; (s) to conduct regular water budgeting and also to conduct periodical social audit, as may be prescribed; (t) to encourage modernization of agriculture in its area of operation; and (u) to maintain the feeder channels of minor irrigation tanks by the respective water users associations, in the manner prescribed; Beneficiary committees have been constituted in West Bengal but do not have any legal back up. 10,000 such committees are working in the State but functional grants are not being given to them.
For WUA to be established as a legal entity there has to be law authorizing its establishment. This law could be general comprehensive Water Law that deals with all aspects related to water, including establishment of WUAs. The National Water Act in Mexico and Water Resources Act in Nepal are example of such comprehensive laws. The enabling law could also be special rules and regulations dealing specifically with WUAs and deriving their authority from basic law such as the Implementing Rules and Regulations on the Provisions of the Republic Act No.7607, on small farmers in Philippines. Because of the absence of basic law specifically on water or WUAs the states in India have relied on different laws to establish WUAs. In the Indian state of Maharashtra, WUAs have established and registered as co-operative societies under the Co-operative Societies Act. On the other hand in the state of Tamil Nadu and in the state of Orissa in India, WUAs are established and registered as societies under the Societies Registration Act. In India, the central government as a general rule has no jurisdiction on the water. Water, according to the constitution of India, is a state matter. Accordingly, each state has issued, or followed, its own laws and regulation on water and, as a result, different legal instruments have emerged which should explain the varying practice which should explain the varying practice on WUAs in these states. However the central government has issued a National Water Policy which is not legislation, but merely a statement of best practices aimed at influencing legislation, policies and practices of the states of India on water related matters. Hon. participatory irrigation management, the National Water Policy urges that Efforts should be made to involve farmers progressively nine various aspects of management of irrigation systems, particularly in water distribution and in collection of water rates. Assistance of voluntary agencies should be enlisted in educating the farmers in efficient water use and water management.
-NABARD SUMMER PLACEMENT SCHEME, NABARD WB RO20
Inclusion of specific provision of WUAs in the comprehensive water law, or having separate water user associations laws or rules, clearly indicates a special interest on, and commitment to WUAs. Because of the absence of such specific laws and rules on WUAs, the Indian states have relied on other laws that may not be closely related to water or WUAs. It is perhaps too early to ascertain the degree of adequacy, or inadequacy, of Co-operative Societies Act or Societies Registration Act, for dealing with complex issues of WUAs. The law establishing WUA would usually include provisions indicating that the WUA to be established as a legal entity. The National Water Act in Mexico defines individual or body corporate as individuals, ejidos, communities, associations, companies and other bodies corporate recognized as having legal status as law, with the forms and limitations established by it. The Water Resources Act in Nepal states in section 6(1) that Users Association shall be an autonomous corporate body with perpetual succession. Such enabling law also addresses the relationship between the WUAs and irrigation agency, the duties and obligations of irrigation agencies, and those of WUAs, and the structure of water rates and the operation and maintenance and other fees. The enabling law may also lay down some of the main issues to be addressed in the bylaws of the WUA, and in transfer agreement. All societies, including WUA, established and registered in any state in India under the Societies Cooperative Act or the Societies Registration Act, are legal entities capable of contracting, opening bank accounts, and instituting and answering suits. However because of their nature, those two Acts do not address WUA related issues that are usually addressed in the water law or establishing WUAs. In state of West Bengal WUAs are registered under the Co-operative Societies Act. Local governments have difficulty in taking an irrigation management responsibility. They have little surplus money for the purpose, and many residing within the Panchayat may have little stake or no stake in the irrigation system because they are not engaged in agriculture or have no land within the command area. Raising funds from these people is unlikely. In West Bengal three tiers of Panchayat Raj System viz. Zilla, Panchayat Samiti and Gram Panchayat. Initially, district-wise targets of tube wells are finalised at the state level by taking into consideration the potential for groundwater development, proportion of small and marginal farmers etc. The Sabhadhipati of Zilla Parishad, in consultation with the Site Selection Committee distributes the tube wells allotted to the district to different Panchayat Samitis. The Site Selection Committee includes two officials of the State Electricity Board, one Geologist and one Irrigation Engineer besides one official from the Agriculture Department as members and the Sabhadhipati as the chairman. At Panchayat Samiti level, the standing Committee for Agriculture, Irrigation and Cooperation further allots the tube wells to the Gram Panchayat. Elected members of the Village Panchayats convened a meeting of all the villagers to discuss the siting of tube wells. While finalising the location of tube wells the following criteria are observed: distance from the high tension line, spacing between wells, proportion of small and marginal farmers, scope for multiple cropping and willingness of the farmers to donate a piece of their owned land for constructing tube wells.
-NABARD SUMMER PLACEMENT SCHEME, NABARD WB RO21
After finalising the location of tube wells, the Village Panchayat delineate the tentative command area of the cluster. An undertaking is obtained from the farmers willing to done at their land for tube well construction. Another undertaking is obtained from all the farmers included in the command, to the effect that they would purchase water supplied by the Panchayat tube wells. The Village Panchayat forwards the above details to the Gram Panchayat, which in turn is forwarded to the Panchayat Samiti. After tube wells are constructed and pump sets energised, they are handed over by the Minor Irrigation Department to the Panchayat Samitis which has the overall responsibility of running them. The most important function of the Panchayat Samiti is to constitute Beneficiary Committee for the operation and maintenance of tube wells besides fixing the water rates. The Panchayat Samitis also have the responsibility of maintaining the profit-loss account of individual tube well clusters. All the tubewell operators are also members of the Beneficiary Committee. The main function of the Beneficiary Committee is to ensure watch and ward of the tube wells, besides their operation and maintenance. The Committee is also required to maintain proper records of tube well running, water rates charged and the revenue realised.
22
Although the enabling law would usually specify that WUA is a legal entity, further details regarding what this entails are usually included in the bylaws. It is usually stated that WUA is authorized to enter into contracts in its name, and that the WUA can sue in its own name, and answer suits instituted against it the WUA can also be authorized to borrow funds from private sources, using, if necessary, its assets as collateral. In Mexico the transfer agreement expressly prohibits pledging the present of future proceeds of fees paid for irrigation services as a guarantee or collateral for any of the WUAs borrowings. The president or the secretary of WUA would usually be designated as a person in whose name the suits will be instituted, and who will sign, on behalf of the WUA, all contracts, pleadings, power of attorney, petitions and statements.
(v) prepare agriculture/ fisheries plans; (vi) maintain book of accounts; and (vii) conflict resolution.
24
The answer to each of these questions indicates some aspect of the overall cost and appropriateness of the technology used for the organization in question. A second aspect of financial viability of WUAs is their scale of operation. The larger a WUA is the more its viability is enhanced by advantages of scale. However such increases in scale come at a price, as larger organizations may find it more difficult to maintain good relations with their clients than small organizations. A key consideration with regard to financial viability is the relationship between the revenue received from farmers and the costs of operation and maintenance: total revenue should be equal to or greater than the costs of operation and maintenance. If this is not the case, there may be good grounds to amalgamate a WUA with a neighbor if this can arguably improve the relationship between revenue and costs. To avoid unexpected problems, such an amalgamation should be promoted where it is approved by not less than two thirds majority of the member of both the organizations, when\ all internal options for cost reduction have been exhausted and if WUAs have had a reasonable period after establishment (3-5 years) in which various options to achieve financial sustainability have been attempted A third aspect of financial sustainability of WUAs is the ability to trade in water rights. This aspect is covered under section 11 of the National Water Act. Trade in water may be utilized to enhance the efficiency of water use in the WUA area. For instance, this could be as a result of a decision by the WUA that a farmer not using all the water allocated to his or her property sells his or her rights to another farmer wishing to use more water. Such an arrangement can only be temporary in nature. Another example is the trade of rights between two users in different locations utilizing the same resource. This requires that the sellers relinquish their entitlement to water and that the buyers apply for an entitlement to use that same water. Thus a WUA could sell part of its water rights to other users: to boost its income; to reduce its use of water.
Trading in water can increase the efficiency of a WUA and may serve to substantially bring down its costs of operation. A fourth aspect of the financial viability of WUAs is their ability to draw down grants and subsidies from government departments. In the case of agricultural water use in new WUAs for poverty alleviation and WUAs which are the result of revitalization efforts, a subsidy on the operation and maintenance costs of the organization will be required for some time after the WUA has been established. This is because it may take several years to increase agricultural production to the point at which farmers are able to pay water use charges out of sales of produce 21. How long this will take exactly is related to the speed with which a wide range of skills are transferred to the organization, the support that is provided for marketing of produce, produce prices, etc. When seen in this light, subsidies to WUAs will be required for the next ten years, and possibly longer.
21
In the case of some existing irrigation boards, subsidies have been available for many decades.
25
22
23
24
25
26
10.Questionnaire conducted with WRIDD, Kolkata & Data Collected from Nadia District:
To understand the role of water users associations, data sources were taken into account. And for this questionnaire was conducted with the WRIDD, Kolkata. The statements give us very direct information about how the water user association be perceived and how to judge the particular function performed by them. The Water Resources Investigation and Development Department (WRI&DD), Government of West Bengal, is the nodal authority in the development of Minor Irrigation in the state. Two Directorates, viz., Water Resources Development Directorate (WRDD), State Water Investigation Directorate (SWID) and two Corporations, viz., West Bengal State Minor Irrigation Corporation Ltd. (WBSMIC Ltd.) and West Bengal Agro-Industries Corporation Ltd. (WBAIC Ltd.) operate under the administrative control of the said department. Several tasks were determined on which we wanted to receive information. A proper defined structure for the questionnaire was adopted. WRIDD, Kolkata participated in formulating questions about the role of water users associations. The first question was concerning the status quo of water resources. In the year 2010 there was drought in West Bengal, which resulted in low water saving. There are 341 blocks which are categorized under following heads: 1. Critical: only 1 block has been identified as critical block. 2. Semi-Critical: 37 blocks are semi-critical in nature 3. Safe: 303 blocks are identified as safe. In the semi-critical block, the water level does not come back to the original level because of the strata condition. And projects are not allowed in these areas. In W.B the ground water resources are adequate. The questionnaire continued with another question about the existing problem. Low level of water saving was identified as the existing problem. The category of drinking water is safe. The blocks of water were categorized as: 1. 81 blocks: arsenic contaminated. 2. 49 blocks: fluoride contaminated. 3. 59 blocks: salinity in coastal zone. The next question was an exception to the above mentioned questions; it has different WUA system. Therefore the questionnaires section about the current measures on water resources follows a different structure. It has been categorized under following heads:
27
1. Supply side: It deals with the reservoirs, which are owned by the Damodar Valley Corporation etc. In parts of West Bengal, over-exploitation has led to arsenic contamination. To promote human health, there is urgent need to prevent contamination of ground water and also promote and develop cost-effective techniques for purifying contaminated ground water for use in rural areas like solar stills. Dilution of harmful chemicals can, to a large extent, be achieved by recharge. 2. Demand Side: It deals with whatever is allocated. Resources are being increased and all progress is satisfactory. After assessing all the functions the next question dealt with the evaluation on effect of water planning. Pilot projects have been implemented. These projects are effective in nature and hence acceptable. With these questions conducted to gain information about the water users associations, the next question was to gain information related to the understanding of the rules and regulations of the water management. There is the rule on Rule on Ground Water Extraction implemented an awareness campaigns are also held for better understanding of these rules and regulations. Groundwater has usually been treated separately from surface water 26 . Historically, this can be ascribed in part to a lack of understanding of the connections between surface and groundwater and of the relationship between groundwater abstractions in different places. This also reflected the unavailability of pumping devices allowing large-scale groundwater withdrawals to the extent of significantly affecting the water table level. These factors contributed to the development of separate legal principles for control over and use of groundwater. Since groundwater has a direct link to the land above, a link was established between land ownership and control, if not outright ownership, of the water found underneath the plot. While no specific groundwater legislation arose until the past decade, basic principles of access and control can be derived from the Easements Act, 1882. Under these principles, landowners have easementary rights to collect and dispose of all water found under their land. 27 There is thus an indissociable link between land ownership and control over groundwater. This implies that groundwater is mostly controlled by individuals or legal entities that own or occupy land. West Bengal has passed a Bill for ground water resources conservation, protection and development but it is awaiting the assent of the President. Hence it is clear in its nature. This question made the whole questionnaire more clear and comprehensible in its nature. The respondents who completed the questionnaire were asked for some relevant information on collection of cess. Apparently it was answered as significant. On surface water bodies there is one time
26
This also holds in other parts of the world. For southern Africa, eg L.A. Swatuk, The New Water Architecture of
SADC, in D.A. McDonald & G. Ruiters (eds), The Age of Commodity Water Privatization in Southern Africa (London: Earthscan, 2005) 43.
27
Halsburys Laws of India Volume 29(2) (New Delhi: Butterworths, 2000) 447.
28
tax collection. Since 1990, the state is building the scheme on collecting water cess. Over 45,000 schemes have been handed over. For sustainability it is important to collect water tax. The next question was concerning the rationality of agricultural irrigation water quota. The respondent answered that the State Water Policy has not yet been implemented. It requires the sanction from the legislature. However, they are planning to appoint water regulatory authority who would decide how much water to be used and at what place. The response to the question of per capita water consumption was 40 liters per day per capita at domestic level. Water Quality: 81 blocks have arsenic problem and 49 blocks have fluoride problem. However there exists the manganese problem also. Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), Bengal stated that there is no ultimate solution for treatment of water all over the world. The arsenic content in water cannot be absolutely removed. So it is better to dilute it to that extent that it is below the toxic level. It can however be improved by using efficient irrigation system. For that there are two system of irrigation: 1. Sprinkler Irrigation: It is the method in which water is sprayed as it happens when rain falls. In this irrigation system, water is distributed through pipes by way of pumping. With the help of spray heads water is sprayed into the air and it reaches the soil surface as little droplets. It is one of the most commonly used irrigation techniques you find getting used these days. It uses less than 50% of water. 2. Drip Irrigation: This type of irrigation is not suitable for serial based crop. Next, the respondent was asked about the transparency of WUA system. It was confirmed that the system is transparent in nature and is backed by the executive order. WUA is constituted by election by local gram panchayat. Member of the Panchayat Samiti elects: 1. President: he decides upon the equitable distribution of water. 2. Member of central committee: 8 persons are elected. They form the executive committee. Simultaneous election is held by those 8 people to elect cashier etc. The committee decides on the water policy rate, and issues like how to save water and how to distribute water. Departmental officers are supposed to visit and conduct seminars and give technical back-up for its sustainability. Self Initiated Community Organization (SICO) plays a very important role over here. A follow up question was asked about the effect of water saving irrigation. The respondent replied it as insignificant. The cost is borne by the farmers. Next question was about the collection of water resource fee. The respondent replied it as approved one. The fees are collected to the extent that the government schemes sustain and it is also subsidized.
-NABARD SUMMER PLACEMENT SCHEME, NABARD WB RO29
The follow up question was about the measures on water pollution prevention and water supplying. The respondent replied that there has been no measure as such but awareness campaigns are held at both block and district level. They advocate using less water for irrigation. And transferring the assets to WUA will improve the existing structure. The current water rate is subsidized and is collected for operation, maintenance and sustainability. The current water rate is Rs.80 per hour (50 cum water).
DISTRICT BLOCK NET ANNUAL GROUND WATER AVAILABILITY IN HECTARE METRE GROSS GROUND WATER DRAFT FOR ALL USES IN HECTARE METRE STAGE OF GROUND WATER DEVELOPMENT IN PERCENTAGE WHETHER WATER LEVEL SHOWS FALLING TREND DURING PREMONSOON 30ft-50ft WHETHER WATER LEVEL SHOWS FALLING TREND DURING POSTMONSOON 10ft-15ft CATEGORY (CRITICAL/ SEMI CRITICAL/ SAFE)
1.NADIA
4-6 50% hectare *Data collected from office of Asst.Engg Bethudahari subdivision.
NAKASIPADA 10ft-15ft
SAFE
Following data was collected so as to analyze the situation of the various WUAs in the state of West Bengal. Therefore the various datas have been collected from the office of Assistant Engineer,
-NABARD SUMMER PLACEMENT SCHEME, NABARD WB RO30
Bethudahari in Nakasipada, Nadia district. The whole field visit consisted of travelling from one block to the other which have been included in the study; reading and collecting the various datas included in the project. The basic observation of the whole project was the flourishing and progressive water user associations in various blocks which also have been a source of developing water resources even in places in which water is found in a low quantity. Though few of the districts have a low water table and a few other districts have water contaminated by the presence of impurities such as arsenic, fluoride etc, the water user associations with the aid of the state government are working efficiently so as to provide impurity free water to the villagers for irrigational purposes which has improved the crop yield and has made agriculture less exhaustive on water resources directly and other natural resources indirectly. A few setbacks for the water users associations in a large number of blocks due to various causes such as non payment of electricity bill resulting in the revoking of the connection, high salinity of water, presence of toxic impurities, are being over-come gradually and steadily by the State Government, paving the way for a better future for these groups.
1. Grant in Aid:
3. Secretary:
Elected
4. Office Bearer
5. Bank-Account
Joint Account opened by all three convener, president and cashier. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. Rai: 150 Rs Potato: 200 Rs Wheat: 250 Rs Chilly: 450 Rs Boro Rice: 700 Rs Banana: 800 Rs Til: 250 Rs
31
7. Room:
8. Electricity Rate:
Rs.2.43/ unit
9. Running From:
5 years
2 Nos
Rs.3000/-
Rs.13000/-
24 Hrs
Rs.2,50,000
Rs.2,00,000
18 units/hr
*Data Collected from Nakasipada Block in West Bengal as on 3rd June 2011.
During the VIII five Year Plan period, due to the deteriorating financial position of most State Governments, there had been a marked slow down in public investment in agriculture in agriculture and
32
rural infrastructure, which was a matter of concern to the Central Government. The Union Finance Minster Dr. Manmohan Singh highlighted this concern in the Budget Speech for 1995-96 as follows : "Inadequacy of public investment in agriculture is today a matter of general concern. This is an area which is the responsibility of the States but may State have neglected investment in infrastructure for agriculture. There are many rural infrastructure projects, which have been started but are lying incomplete for want of resources. They represent a major loss of potential income and development to the rural population". Simultaneously, the commercial banking system subsequent to the implementation of Agricultural and Rural Debt Relief Scheme (ARDRS) 1990 had substantially cleansed their balance sheets of agricultural loans, with such relief being borne by the Government of India through infusion of fresh capital. As the same time, the banks also did not extend credit to the agriculture sector to the targeted level of 18% of net bank credit due to the cautious approach adopted by them following the general reforms which began in the banking sector. Both these phenomena occurring simultaneously resulted in a sharp fall in capital formation the agriculture, both in the public sector due to the State Governments' reducing investment in agriculture and in private sector due to depletion in the flow of bank credit to the agriculture sector. To tackle the twin problems at one go, Union Finance Minster conceived the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) under the agencies of NABARD. Deposits to the fund are made by commercial banks to the extent of their shortfall in agriculture lending targets during the year, which in turn are lent out to State Governments to create rural infrastructure. The loans to State Government from the RIDF for completion of ongoing projects within a short span of one or two years were expected to unlock sunk investment in the projects that were languishing for want of financial resources and also to stimulate private sector investments with a view to improve agricultural production, generation of income and creation of additional rural employment. The status of the WUA under RIDF funded minor irrigation projects in West Bengal District/ Tranche RIDF -I RIDF -II RIDF -III RIDF -IV RIDF -V RIDF -VI RIDF -VII RIDF -VIII RIDF -IX RIDF -X TOTAL
222
201
133
328
90
974
218
26
18
60
101
423
33
East Midnapore Hooghly Howrah Jalpaiguri Nadia North Parganas Murshidab ad 85 24 70 30 330 65 108 98
54
34
105
8 9 735 34 69
3 11 118 8
21 11 220 58 1 34
1 9 9 7
10
78
76
48
154
447
34
1. Despite the government's repeated assertions in recent years on the need for a decentralized, people-oriented and demand driven water management, these have not been converted into implementable solutions. While policy initiatives exist with regard to water user associations, watershed associations, and legal strategies are a much-needed prerequisite in order to evolve satisfactory working relationships between local bodies, institutions and networks of formal and informal village groups engaged in water management. 2. Development of a WUA strategy document setting out the mechanisms through which the policy goals are to be achieved. 3. Development of a memorandum of understanding among those government departments that promote the development of community structures which manage water on behalf of members. This memorandum should emphasize the need to enable such structures to access support (short and long term) from government departments other than those which facilitated their emergence. 4. The role of non-agricultural WUAs in poverty alleviation remains to be explored. 5. The possible use of WUAs to incorporate the management of domestic water supplies into their functions needs to be investigated. 6. The minimum requirements for public participation needs to examined in some detail. 7. Development of an interdepartmental communications strategy to inform small scale farmers of the various grants and subsidies available to them from the various departments.
8. To provide a framework for decentralizing decision-making to the lowest level and to allow
beneficiaries and other stakeholders to be involved from the project planning stage. In principle, participation is conceived as an umbrella term that covers participation from policy planning and project design to the management of water infrastructure. In practice, the focus is on participation at the tail end of the process.
9. Efforts should be made to involve the farmers progressively in various aspects of management of
projects could not be realized, they cannot be sustained in the long run.
12. Making the water distribution more equitable. -NABARD SUMMER PLACEMENT SCHEME, NABARD WB RO35
Fig 2: Pit
36
Fig.5: Quadruped
Fig 6: Quadruped
37
REFERENCES
1. NABARD: RIDF Department 2. WRIDD DEPARTMENT 3. Office of Assistant Engineer at Nadia District 4. Sample collected from sites at Nadia District 5. National Water Policy 2002 6. World Bank Project Document
38
DISCLAIMER
This project report/dissertation has been prepared by the author as an intern under the Summer Placement Scheme of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development for academic purposes only. The views expressed in the report are personal to the intern and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Company (NABARD) or any of its staff or personnel and do not bind the Company in any manner. This report is the intellectual property of the NABARD, Kolkata and the same or any part thereof may not be used in any manner whatsoever, without express permission of the National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development, Kolkata writing.
39