The irrigation crisis

The Andhra Pradesh government's demand of a special Rs 25,000-crore package from the Centre for completion of its irrigation projects should not be viewed in isolation. It is a manifestation of the general lack of funds for irrigation in the states.

A large number of projects are pending, for want of money, in states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and others. As a result, not only have huge sums of money been locked up wastefully in interminably on-going projects but their costs have also escalated to unsustainable heights.

Also worrisome are the consequences for agriculture, of the slow-down in the expansion of the irrigation; and agricultural output growth has been decelerating for past 15 years.

In fact, for the first time after the advent of the green revolution in the 1960s, the average annual growth in food production (all foods taken together and not cereals alone) has dropped below the rate of growth of the population.

Equally disquieting is the colossal wastage of water due to the lack of adequate infrastructure for its storage and gainful use. In Andhra Pradesh alone, some 1.45 trillion cusecs of water are estimated to have flowed wastefully to the sea in this monsoon season.

If such wastage continues, it becomes impossible to meet the growing demand for water, for not only agriculture but also industry, navigation, domestic consumption and other purposes.

The funds crunch is not only impeding the creation of new irrigation potential, it is also telling upon the operation and maintenance of existing irrigation systems. There are huge losses of water due to seepage in the distribution network, for want of necessary repairs.

Besides, a good deal of water is wasted through over-use in agriculture and other sectors due to low water charges. The resultant water-logging is degrading the land and creating other ecological problems.

The net result of all this is rapid deterioration in water-use efficiency, which has plummeted to 30-40 per cent, against the desired 60 per cent.

What is needed, prima facie, is substantial augmentation of funds for the water resources sector. Considering the dismal financial health of the states, the challenge is obvious.

The Centre, too, cannot be expected to bear the entire burden. The cost of the 460-odd projects that have spilled over into the 10th plan is estimated at a whopping Rs 86,377 crore.

This year's Union Budget has set apart only Rs 4,800 crore for the accelerated irrigation benefit programme, and this has specifically been earmarked for the completion of last-mile projects.

Even if this allocation is doubled next year, it will not suffice. There is, thus, no escape from raising funds from other sources, and this is possible only if irrigation projects are made economically viable through the imposition of realistic user charges.

For this, cost recovery and operation and maintenance funding need to be made an essential part of budgeting for irrigation projects. Irrigation was a net revenue-generating sector in pre-Independence days. It can be made so again if there is political will to achieve this end result.

One workable method might be to hand over to actual users the task of maintenance and operation, including levying and collection of water charges. This has been tried successfully in several places and there is no reason why it cannot be adopted more generally.