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

A brief history of irrigation development in India during pre- and post- Independence
periods serves here as a prelude to this study's main concern, namely, a discussion of what
constitutes the ideal approach to irrigation management. Also dealt with here are the
problems that are a fallout of various irrigation strategies.
Irrigation during pre-Independence period
The advent of British rule in India added new dimensions to the development of irrigation.
British rulers could comprehend fairly the productivity potentials of fertile Indian soils and
their respective suitability to grow commercial and other tood crops. Efforts were,
theretore, made to exploit first these fertile soils to increase agricultural production. In
doing so the colonial rulers did not opt for gigantic projects involving unduly large
investments and technological sophistications but concentrated on improving already
existing systems and added new systems such as diversion weirs and barrages. But over the
years, drought and periodic famine coupled with the erratic behavior of the monsoon
became a regular phenomenon and the emphasis shifted from productive to protective
irrigation systems. Accordingly, the construction of many important major and minor
projects were taken up keeping in mind their financial viability, as financial returns on
investment became the main criteria for taking up irrigation projects.
Colonial rule not only expanded state intervention but also encouraged irrigation under the
private sector. Between 1900 and 1945, the area irrigated by public works had increased by
77.6 percent as against 75.4 percent in the private sector (GOI 1976). The performance of
the private sector, in terms of area irrigated, between 1921 and 1945 was not very
encouraging. The area irrigated by private sources increased by only 12.4 percent between
1921 and 1945, as against 29.8 percent under the public sector. Though irrigation
development in the British period took twists and turns in terms of thrust and direction, it
has set the tone for the emergence of a dynamic and vibrant irrigation sector in the country.
With the partition of the country in 1947, a major portion of the irrigation potential created
in undivided India during the pre-Independence period went to Pakistan. At the time of
partition, the net sown area in the country including that of the princely states was 116.8
million hectares, of which 28.2 million hectares or 24 percent was irrigated. At the time of
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