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Foreword
During the last 25 years, Andhra Pradesh has
been at the forefront of watershed development
and other innovative programmes aimed at
tackling the challenges of poverty alleviation and
environmental sustainability. The DFID-supported
Andhra Pradesh Rural Livelihoods Programme
(APRLP) is providing the Andhra Pradesh
Department of Rural Development with another
excellent opportunity to develop and assess novel
approaches to helping rural communities and
households overcome the complex constraints and
impediments that impact on all aspects of their
livelihoods. The APRLP is also providing an
opportunity to identify and build upon the
successful components of existing programmes
and, where relevant, to rethink and modify those
approaches to development that have been less
successful or that have resulted in unintended
consequences.
The APRLP Water Audit working in partnership
with relevant line departments has shown that
ongoing water-related policies and programmes
have and are producing a range of benefits.
However, the Water Audit has also identified
situations in which current programmes run the
risk of being victims of their own success (e.g. in
cases in which intensive treatment of drainage
lines is reducing tank inflows and the overall
utility of traditional tank systems).
The Water Audit has highlighted the need for
greater accuracy in official statistics held
by different line departments. As these
statistics underpin decision-making at all
levels, increased effort is also required to
make water-related information accessible
to those who need it.
Finally, the APRLP Water Audit
makes recommendations for policies and
interventions that take a long-term approach
to developing and managing water resources.
These recommendations include practical
suggestions for ways in which Andhra Pradesh
could introduce and pilot integrated water
resource management systems that have the
aims of protecting drinking water supplies,
promoting equitable access to water for
productive uses and enhancing the efficiency
and productivity of water use at all scales.
Given that demand and competition for water
resources in Andhra Pradesh is almost certainly
going to intensify in coming years, the
contribution of the APRLP Water Audit to
ongoing debates and policy formulation is
welcomed.
Shri S Ray
Special Chief Secretary,
Panchayati Raj and Rural Development,
Government of Andhra Pradesh