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3.6 Gully control structures
Figures 11 and 12 show the location of water
harvesting and gully control structures that have
been constructed as part of the DPAP, DDP and
other government programmes. Table 4 provides
more details on the type and number of
structures. The totals in Table 4 can be compared
with the APGWD figures of 83 check dams in
Kalyandurg and 164 gully control structures in
Dhone. One reason for such large discrepancies
(i.e. 50% and 115%) is the fact that the official
figures do not include structures that were not
funded by the DPAP and DDP programmes. It
should be noted that a more detailed survey of
gully control structures by the WHiRL Project in
four villages in Kalyandurg showed that many
structures were also missed by the Water Audit
surveys. If all smaller structures are included the
true numbers of gully control structures may be
around double the figures reported here.
Gully control structures are relatively more
uniformly distributed across Kalyandurg. In
Dhone, gully control structures are concentrated
primarily in the red soil areas. Many gullies in
other areas of Dhone that have steep slopes have
been treated in recent years as part of the Neeru-
Meeru programme’s continuous contour
trenching activities.
3.7 Tanks
The use of tanks for catching runoff is a
traditional practice in the study mandals that is
more prevalent in the red soil areas underlain by
Figure 11. Kalyandurg’s water harvesting
structures and drainage network
crystalline basement geologies. The tank surveys
showed that there are 85 tanks in Kalyandurg
and 18 tanks in Dhone. Official statistics show
that in Kalyandurg there are 13 minor irrigation
tanks having a total command area of 367 ha.
Although some of Kalyandurg’s tanks date back
to the early 18 th Century, the majority were
constructed during the second half of the 19 th
Century or the first half of the 20 th Century.
The survey showed that approximately 25% of
the tank bunds and weirs were in poor condition.
As part of GoAP policy, all but four of the
tanks are now used as percolation tanks
(i.e. groundwater recharge structures) rather than
sources of water for surface irrigation. Farmers in
the command areas now rely on groundwater as
a primary source of irrigation water and, in some
cases, seepage water from the tank or water
flowing through damaged sluices or weirs.
In the majority of tanks, siltation has occurred
and, as a consequence, dead storage and average
depth have been reduced. Issues surrounding
the widely-held view that inflows to tanks have
decreased in recent years are discussed in
Section 4.3.
3.8 Land capability
The areas of the two study mandals with
different land capability classes are presented
in Table 5. The soil and land characteristic
associated with each capability class and subclass
can be found in Table 6.
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