Beneficiary Participation in Irrigation Water Management: The Kerala

is that canal operators who are in charge of its day-to-day operation should stay in the area
of their operation. With this end in view it is customary to construct residential quarters for
canal operators in the different areas of the canal system in a project command; a number of
such quarters were constructed in our study area also. But many of the family quarters of
canal operators are found to be in a dilapidated condition. Further, they are left unused too.
More than 90 percent of the respondents, ordinary members and office bearers included,
reported that the family quarters are left unused.
The fact that about 10 per cent of our respondents reported that the quarters are being used,
shows that a small proportion of canal operators do stay in the area of their operation and
that a few BFAs function well. Some of the unused residential quarters are reportedly
havens of anti-social activities.
The canal operators are personnel of the irrigation department. They are supposed to work
under supervision by CADA officials, especially engineers of the irrigation department who
are responsible for water distribution up to the sluice level. We are given to understand that
the supervision work remains largely unattended to. Owing to want of supervision, water
distribution has fallen into disarray, leading to misallocation of water, inefficiency, and
corruption.
To sum up: supervision of canal operators and water guards was not effectively done in the
study area. Engineers who were in charge of supervision were lethargic. As a result, water
distribution became uncertain and erratic and the farming community frustrated. They also
lost interest in participating in the activities of BFAs.
Officials and BFAs
Inadequate beneficiary participation is caused partly by the implicit non-cooperation of the
majority of engineers right from the day CADA was introduced in Kerala. Non-cooperation
was manifested in their (i) lack of participation in the awareness-creating efforts such as
seminars, camps, and symposiums, (ii) unenthusiastic approach of BFAs and (iii) indifference
to the functioning of BFAs. Not all CADA officials were, however, non-cooperative. There
were a few among them who were earnest and enthusiastic.
Allegations
An allegation that some of our respondents raised against office-bearers of BFAs was about
their undemocratic functioning. They complained that the executive committee played to
the whims and fancies of the President.
It is alleged that in actual practice, major decisions were taken and implemented by officebearers
without the concurrence of the executive committee. Many a time the latter was
summoned only after implementation of the decision either in whole or in part. Another
allegation, which appears to be flimsy, is that office-bearers, by virtue of their acquaintance
with officials, took undue advantage of their acquaintance. Both these allegations may be
true to some extent, but not serious enough to merit discussion.
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