Beneficiary Participation in Irrigation Water Management: The Kerala

In view of the fact that most of the BFAs have not been functioning effectively and that the
majority of the ordinary members are not aware of the activities of BFAs, the ground level
realities were probed by us in depth by staying in the study area for about five months and
interacting with all the stakeholders intensively. We have examined whatever documentary
evidence was available on the functioning of the BFAs.
On the basis of our final evaluation, we have classified the BFAs in terms of their performance
of recurring functions into three broad categories: (i) satisfactory performance, (ii) no
performance, and (iii) partial performance.
Satisfactory performance
The frequency Tables 4.13 (a, b, and c) provide the details of functions of BFAs whose
performance was found, on a comparative basis, somewhat satisfactory. Creation of awareness,
among the farming community, of the relevance of BFAs is relatively the most important
recurring function determining performance; the other functions used for assessing
performance are the organisation of camps, seminars, and tours to well-functioning BFAs in
Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
As for organising awareness seminars is concerned, out of the 457 respondents, only 44
(hardly 16 percent) respondents denied that this function had been performed by BFAs.
True, the other 413 members differed among themselves on the frequency with which the
seminars had been held. It seems that, in fact, BFA leadership and CADA officials together
had managed to discharge this function to a large extent. There is adequate documentary
evidence to prove active involvement of CADA officials in organising seminars. Again, our
field experience also confirmed this claim. It was indeed the CADA officials who took the
initiative and leadership in organising these awareness seminars and camps more than the
BFA leadership. While 46 office-bearers (representing 96 per cent) testified to the fact that
seminars had been organised, 90 percent of the OMs also concurred with that statement. As
between reaches also, the result is the same. Around 90 percent of the respondents have
confirmed that awareness seminars had been held periodically for the benefit of the farming
community.
Awareness camps, the organisation of which demands more intensive planning and greater
effort, had been held less frequently than seminars. Out of the 457 respondents (representing
19 per cent), 86 vouchsafed that no camps had been held. As against this 81 per cent
respondents who testified to the holding of camps, 39 percent stated that camps had been
held only very rarely; but the other 42 percent averred that camps had been held quite
frequently. Reaches-wise, some difference is observed as between the upper and the middle
reaches on the one side and the lower reaches on the other. While 85 percent of the former
agreed with the statement that camps had been held frequently, only 71 per cent of the latter
concurred with that statement.
The reason for this difference seems that the lower reaches, located at considerable distance
from the upper reaches, were not given serious attention by CADA officials, in the matter of
organising awareness camps.
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