Beneficiary Participation in Irrigation Water Management: The Kerala
Beneficiary Participation in Irrigation Water Management: The Kerala
Beneficiary Participation in Irrigation Water Management: The Kerala
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<strong>The</strong>se facts po<strong>in</strong>t to the need to provide BFAs with seed money to enable them to take up<br />
m<strong>in</strong>or works as stipulated <strong>in</strong> CADA Act. <strong>The</strong> provision of seed money must be made only<br />
after ensur<strong>in</strong>g adequate safeguards aga<strong>in</strong>st its possible misuse. <strong>The</strong> government should be<br />
able to ensure safeguards once BFAs are made full-fledged legal entities.<br />
Table 6.2 On improv<strong>in</strong>g the work<strong>in</strong>g of BFAs by methods<br />
Qn.<br />
No.<br />
a<br />
b<br />
c<br />
d<br />
e<br />
Statements OBs OMs Reaches-wise Total<br />
UR MR LR<br />
F % F % F % F % F %<br />
Create more<br />
awareness<br />
6 12.5 52 12.7 20 13.2 15 11.0 17 14.1<br />
Simplify official<br />
procedures<br />
Improve official<br />
attitude<br />
Should have<br />
better leadership<br />
Better legal<br />
support<br />
15 31.3 152 37.7 46 30.3 51 37.5 55 45.5<br />
28 58.3 283 69.2 93 61.2 91 66.9 99 81.8<br />
10 20.8 140 34.0 48 13.6 61 44.9 31 25.6<br />
48 100 401 98.0 148 98.0 133 97.7 120 99.1<br />
Another measure suggested to avoid contract work is the supply of equipment centrally for<br />
use by BFAs. <strong>The</strong> irrigation department or CADA may arrange the supply. For field channel<br />
l<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g and other m<strong>in</strong>or repairs, use of cement concrete is essential. Cement-mix<strong>in</strong>g mach<strong>in</strong>es,<br />
wooden supports and plates are therefore to be made available to BFAs. Moreover, as had<br />
actually happened <strong>in</strong> our study areas, such m<strong>in</strong>or civil works have to be carried out with<strong>in</strong><br />
short specified periods. Central provision of equipment for use by BFAs as and when required<br />
is therefore essential.<br />
If BFAs, Canal Committees and Project Advisory Committees are made legal entities and<br />
adequate sources of funds are given to them provision of equipment centrally at the Canal<br />
Committee level or PAC level, might become a practical proposition.<br />
<strong>The</strong> third measure of reform suggested for enabl<strong>in</strong>g BFAs to take up m<strong>in</strong>or civil works is<br />
the ‘provision for technical advice <strong>in</strong> time’. This suggestion has the implication that the<br />
technical personnel who were expected to give advice to those who sought for it had not<br />
been discharg<strong>in</strong>g their responsibility promptly or properly. <strong>The</strong> majority of the respondents<br />
were not <strong>in</strong> favour of these implications and therefore desisted from mak<strong>in</strong>g this suggestion.<br />
Another measure of reform suggested was that there should be proper phas<strong>in</strong>g of m<strong>in</strong>or civil<br />
works. Field channel l<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g used to be taken up simultaneously <strong>in</strong> all project commands<br />
com<strong>in</strong>g under CADA division, Palakkad. <strong>The</strong> limited number of technical personnel,<br />
particularly the eng<strong>in</strong>eers available with the division, were not able to extend their services<br />
to all the worksites and <strong>in</strong> time. One assistant eng<strong>in</strong>eer had to supervise and render advice<br />
<strong>in</strong> a day to several works under several canal committee ayacuts.<br />
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