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

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riding" has become a rational choice, So the farmers tend to maximize income per acre of
land and not per unit of water. Another feature noticed in the village is that powerful
farmers divert canal water illegally into small man made ponds that are used for livestock
and during land and seed preparation. Poor irrigation system design and management are
primary factors leading to salinity problems (Maredia & Pingali 200 I). While there are no
simple explanations for the development of waterlogging and salinity, it has been evident
for some time that there is an unholy nexus between inefficient irrigation water distribution
and the development of waterlogging and soil salinity in the irrigation command of this
village.
Conflict resolution
The State Irrigation Act has no provision to settle disputes between a farmer or a WUA and
the government irrigation agency or between two or more WUAs served by the same
watercourse. The government has virtually no legal framework that clearly specifies the
rights and responsibilities of various stakeholders. When disputes among farmers arise,
they are generally referred to the irrigation officer. If the irrigation agency officials fail to
settle the dispute, irrigators can go to the civil court. Aryan (1992) has pointed out that a
key weakness in the present dispute handling mechanisms is that the legally preferred ones
include bureaucrats, mostly those with the state irrigation agencies.
Conflict resolution is one of the byelaws of the WUA. In Gundur, the WUA members
should complain to the president of the WUA about their grievances or clash of interest
with any other member. The president will call for a meeting to resolve the conflict within
a week. The board questions those who are involved in a dispute and others who may be
able to provide additional information. The decisions are taken by simple majority of votes.
The board of members may reject the case if the issue is not related to activities within the
competence of the WUA.
Conflicts to a larger extent are resolved in an informal way, using local customary rules
and regulations. Since the majority of the members live in a single village the disputes are
generally settled through informal ways in the context of shared dependency and loyalty.
The contlicts are almost settled very quickly so that the standing crops are not lost. At
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