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economics of on-farm development - Institute for Social and ...

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Subsequently, an Expert Committee was appointed by the Planning Commissi<strong>on</strong><br />

(GOI, 1992) in October 1991 under the Chairmanship <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>Vaidyanathan to review<br />

the irrigati<strong>on</strong> pricing policy. The Commissi<strong>on</strong> proposed a three phased transiti<strong>on</strong><br />

in the policy, viz., a) rati<strong>on</strong>alisati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the existing system <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> individual<br />

assessment based <strong>on</strong> area under different crops to <strong>on</strong>e <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> seas<strong>on</strong> <strong>and</strong> crop-specific<br />

area rates; b) shift to a full-fledged volumetric distributi<strong>on</strong> system with necessary<br />

physical changes; <strong>and</strong> c) reworking <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the operati<strong>on</strong>al rules <strong>and</strong> procedures <strong>for</strong><br />

effective regulati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> water allocati<strong>on</strong> <strong>and</strong> deliveries.<br />

However, there was no attempt to implement the recommendati<strong>on</strong>s <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the<br />

committee <strong>and</strong> the seriousness <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the problem <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> n<strong>on</strong>-pricing or under-pricing <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />

water c<strong>on</strong>tinue to perpetuate inefficiency.<br />

It was found that by 1993-94, the<br />

losses <strong>on</strong> account <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> irrigati<strong>on</strong> had increased to Rs. 124 billi<strong>on</strong>, about 2.3 times<br />

the plan outlay <strong>on</strong> irrigati<strong>on</strong> (MundIe <strong>and</strong> Rao, 1997; Srivastava <strong>and</strong> Sen, 1997,<br />

as quoted in Vaidyanathan, 1999: p.1 0 I). There was also a marked decline in the<br />

cost recovery ratio from 12.60 per cent to mere 4.40 per cent.<br />

Thus, the problem <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> under-pricing or n<strong>on</strong>-pricing <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> irrigati<strong>on</strong> water acts<br />

as a major c<strong>on</strong>straint in the effective utilisati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> irrigati<strong>on</strong> water in canal<br />

the public deposits raised through irrigati<strong>on</strong> b<strong>on</strong>ds. The state governments <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> Andhra<br />

Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana <strong>and</strong> Orissa have revised the water rates recently (GO!,<br />

2000: 2.293).<br />

10 The Expert Committee (1992) denotes that water rates in Tamilnadu were last revised<br />

30 years back. In Punjab, Kerala, Haryana, Jammu <strong>and</strong> Kashmir <strong>and</strong> Himachal Pradesh,<br />

there has been no change in rates since the mid-70s. Several states (including Andhra<br />

Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh<br />

<strong>and</strong> West Bengal) announced revisi<strong>on</strong>s during 1981-86, but in some cases (Gujarat <strong>and</strong><br />

Karnataka), the implementati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the revised rates was held up by the governments,<br />

<strong>and</strong> in the case <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> Andhra Pradesh, because <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> stay orders from the courts (GOI, 1992).<br />

54

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