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

Chapter 7
Water Users' Association and Irrigation System Performance
Given the increasing water use and distribution contlicts emerging in canal command areas,
especially in major projects, the need for transferring irrigation management tu user gruups
has been stressed by the planners all over the world, more importantly in developing
countries. In Karnataka, like elsewhere in the country, attempts are being made to transfer
irrigation management to user groups. The Tungabhadra irrigation project is one of the
major systems in the state, where irrigatiun management transfer has been attempted. The
two villages selected for this study are from this command area. An attempt is therefore,
made in this chapter to analyze status of irrigation management in the village by the WUA
(Gundur) as compared to the other village which lacks any institutional setup (Hagedal).
Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) in Karnataka
Irrigation management transfer I or PIM has become a widespread strategy in Asia, Africa
and Latin America. Karnataka State has a long history uffarmers' involvement in irrigation
management, but limited experience with formal PIM 2 programs. Efforts to increase farmer
participation in major irrigation systems received policy attention from the 1980s and
WUAs or pipe committees were initiated at the outlet levels which were supposed to cooperate
with CADA for on-farm development works and distribute water on a rotatiDnal
basis. The water rights and the linked responsibilities of the WUAs and its members were
not defined and also there was no enabling legislation or legal backing to make them
functionally effective. Hence, by the mid-1990s, about 225 WUAs created in major and
minor irrigation projects became defunct or existed only on paper due to lack of enabling
provisions as well as absence of a comprehensive PIM policy in the state.
Et10rts to transfer irrigation management to farmer organizations occurred more than a
decade ago in TBP.
However, the managerial powers lay mostly in the hands of the
I Turning over the management authority for irrigation systems. from government agencies to farmers is
generally referred to as management transfer (Vermillion 1997). For a detailed discussion on the performance
and impacts of irrigation management transfer see Vermillion (1997) and Brewer eta!' (1999). .
2 PIM is neither a totally new nor an alien concept to the Indian farmer. It was a basIC premise based on which
many of the traditional irrigation systems were designed. constructed. operated and managed successfully for
centuries. The phraseology used by the donor agencies has, however been changmg from time to time.
(Reddy 2000).
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