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

distribution, and time schedules to individuals on rotation to ensure efficient distribution of
water. The basic allocation principle is area based. Every piece of land is entitled to a
quantity of canal water proportionate to its size. The movement of water from one tield to
another is regulated through properly constructed spillways. The Neergunty appointed by
the WUA regulate and monitor water supplies and seepage. However, in the event of scarce
water supply, proportionate water distribution principle and night irrigation are followed
and farmers can decide which plot is to be irrigated. Hence, during scarcity, members have
agreed on certain norms and procedures concerning the timings and sequencing of water.
The system consequently provides a formal facility through which the farmers can use
water supply to meet crop-water needs. Thus, many rules concerning the distribution of
water are established and followed in customary practices based on their mutually agreed
allocation rules rather than the written water distribution schedule. One of the indicators of
equity as mentioned by the farmers is that tail enders must get their proportional share of
water which is strictly followed in the distribution pattern. Consequently, all farmers
equally share both excesses and shortfalls in the water deliveries in the system. This
distribution policy ensures fairness to all the members of the association as per the
distributive justice theory of Rawls (1971). The equitable distribution of water through built
in flexibility in delivery schedules has led to considerable reduction in water losses. Hence,
in Gundur, around 94 percent of farmers avoided over irrigation.
In Hagedal, where there is no WUA, there is no system of allocation and distribution of
water. One can find indiscipline in water use by farmers. Illegal diversion of water and
operation of gates by farmers to suit their individual interests is, therefore, a common
phenomenon in this village. Farmers manage to get more water by making holes into the
outlet channels or by manipulating the outlet itself. However, the biggest problem found
here is that though adequate water is available throughout the command area, the timing of
water availability to certain plots is unreliable and sometimes one can observe both
waterlogging and drought during one cropping season on these plots. Chambers (1988) has
noted that the tail ends of main canals, branch canals and distributaries suffer sometimes
from excess water from flooding or seepage or they sutTer from too little or unpredictability
in supply. As unreliable timings increases the risk of crop failure and reduces expected
returns, farmers whose lands are very far from the outlets try to store much more water in
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