NGOs AND INSTITUTIONAL REFORMS: A CASE STUDY OF IRRIGATION SECTOR REFORMS IN GUJARAT, INDIA
BACKGROUND Being dependent for a long time on the vagaries of monsoon, India has placed a very great emphasis on development of the irrigation sector right from independence. However the problems of under-utilisation, lack of access by tail-end farmers, poor maintenance and non-viability of the irrigation systems persist in the government owned surface irrigation schemes. On the other hand, small, privately owned irrigation systems (dugwells, tubewells, etc.) are found to be more efficient and provide more than 50 percent of irrigation in India. Water rates have not been increased because of political populism. In fact, the average water rate is only 3 percent of the estimated net benefit from irrigation. Because of the low water rates and poor recovery rates, revenue from the irrigation sector covers only 20 percent of the cost of operation and maintenance, making the sector highly subsidised and non-viable. These problems in the irrigation sector are more or less found in all states of India.
https://biodiversitylinks.org/library/resources/rmp/library/content/tools/case-studies-by-country/india-02.doc/view
https://biodiversitylinks.org/@@site-logo/biodiversity-links-logo-no-tag.png
File
NGOs AND INSTITUTIONAL REFORMS: A CASE STUDY OF IRRIGATION SECTOR REFORMS IN GUJARAT, INDIA
BACKGROUND Being dependent for a long time on the vagaries of monsoon, India has placed a very great emphasis on development of the irrigation sector right from independence. However the problems of under-utilisation, lack of access by tail-end farmers, poor maintenance and non-viability of the irrigation systems persist in the government owned surface irrigation schemes. On the other hand, small, privately owned irrigation systems (dugwells, tubewells, etc.) are found to be more efficient and provide more than 50 percent of irrigation in India. Water rates have not been increased because of political populism. In fact, the average water rate is only 3 percent of the estimated net benefit from irrigation. Because of the low water rates and poor recovery rates, revenue from the irrigation sector covers only 20 percent of the cost of operation and maintenance, making the sector highly subsidised and non-viable. These problems in the irrigation sector are more or less found in all states of India.
