Beneficiary Participation in Irrigation Water Management: The Kerala

years. The period till 1994 was one of passivity, when only about 26 BFAs were formed.
BFAs were formed in great haste during 1986 and 1987 for making possible the utilisation
of the funds made available during the period. The result was formation of adhoc BFAs,
incompetent to carry out the several other functions assigned to them.
Canal Committees are strategically important as the co-ordinating agency of the BFAs,
taking policy decisions on cropping pattern in the ayacut. Only 57 CC meetings were held
by the eight canal committees during a span of 10 years. Forty-three of them were held
without quorum and 35 with zero attendance of non-official members. Attendance of nonofficial
members was ensured only for meetings held for election of office-bearers. Only 29
decisions were taken in the 57 CC meetings held, which were of a routine nature, not
pertaining to the major functions of the Canal Committees as envisaged in the CADA Act.
The level of knowledge on the part of farmers about the existence of CCs and the PACs, and
their structure and functions was extremely low.
Most BFA members were in favour of holding the general body meetings before
commencement of the crop season. But this was seldom done. The office-bearers kept
ordinary members only for the sake of record.
CADA officials organised seminars and camps. BFA leadership collected and disbursed the
management subsidy, grants, and other items of assistance, but did not take any initiative in
organising any other activity of the farmers.
Summoning the general body, presenting the audited statement of accounts and budget for
the ensuing year, and conducting the election of new office-bearers, are statutory obligations
of a BFA. These were performed by a very few proportion of the sample BFAs.
Functions such as are resolution of conflicts, attending canal committee meetings,
disseminating the decisions of canal committee to BFA members, fixing the appropriate
timings for simultaneous application of pesticides, and providing seed and seedlings, fertiliser
and agricultural implements were performed only partly and that too only by a small number
of BFAs. Several BFAs who existed only in name did not even know about these functions.
Items like collective provision of seed and fertiliser could not be carried far, since many
cultivators were not agreeable to such joint action.
Group preparation of fields for cultivation, preparation of Action Plan, setting up of common
nursery for supply of seedlings, and fixing appropriate timings for commencing agricultural
operations were functions which BFAs did not perform at all. Farmers in the study area
were not inclined to perform this activity on a collective basis.
BFAS were not able to maintain linkages with the government for several reasons: they did
not enjoy the required legal status, were financially unviable and lacked competent leadership.
The BFAs were too weak even to invite any interference from vested interests of the class
and community leaderships.
Corruption also had its place in the functioning of BFAs. They were manifested in the form
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