Water Users Association and Irrigation Management - Institute for ...

majority of the sample fanners are large fanners.
Agriculture in the study villages is closely related to release of water from TLBC and the
rainfall pattern. Violation of the cropping pattern and unauthorized cultivation is a common
feature in both the villages. Instead of a single season supplementary irrigation of crops like
sorghum. millet and t,'Toundnut there is a high incidence of double cropping and intensive
and extensive irrigation of paddy. It is mainly due to the Andhra fanners who have been
growing paddy in those areas localized for light crops. Further, to hasten the development
of the command area during the fifties and early sixties, the authorities themselves
encouraged the violation of the cropping pattern by pennitting the growing of paddy in dry
irrigated lands. Fanners tollow traditional method of paddy cultivation, where fields are
tlooded throughout the growth period.
In Hagedal. there are no fonnally registered associations or societies. Even an infonnal kind
of an association tor water distribution does not exist in this village. People never felt the
need for collective action either for agriculture or irrigation activities. In Gundur, there is a
WUA that is tonnally registered in 1997 under Karnataka Co-operative Societies Act, but is
working intonnally since 1967. The Association was mainly fonned to get water from the
inoperative sub-distributary to the fields of the fanners in Gundur. The Association is
hydraulically based with a clearly defined service area and it serves about 696 acres
covering 172 fanners.
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