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RELEVANCE OF TRADITIONAL INDIAN METHODS OF

WATER MANAGEMENT IN THE PRESENT ERA

Vivek P. Kapadia, Government of Gujarat

IWW-2016, PD-3

India’s Per Capita Water Availability

WATER RESOURCES OF INDIA

Year Cubic meter Per Year

1901 4555

1951 3008

1971 1981

1991 1283

2025 943

2050 686

• Against estimated annual precipitation of about 4,000 Billion

Cubic Meters (BCM) including snow fall, India’s total annual

renewable fresh water resources are estimated at 1953 BCM.

INDIA IS A WATER STRESSED COUNTRY

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• India has increased its water storage capacity from a meager 15

BCM to more than 200 BCM by constructing over 4000 dams.

• Production of food grains in the country went up from around 50

million tonnes (1950-51) to 234 million tonnes (2008-09).

POST-INDEPENDENCE ACCOMPLISHMENT

OF INDIA

Year Average (Gram Per

Capita Per Day)

1951-60 429.8

1961-70 447.5

1971-80 442.2

1981-90 464.2

1990-2000 475.5

2001-2005 454.2

2006 445.3

2007 442.8

2008 436.0

2009 444.0

Per Capita Availability of Food Grains

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• Basic philosophy of any irrigation project – stopping the flowing water and

diverting the same transversely

SYSTEM OF DAMS AND CANALS

Submergence

Command Area

CAN THE SAME STRATEGY

BENEFIT ALL AND FOREVER ?

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• Principle – collect water from a large basin, create head and distribute

wherever gravity permits – obviously larger topography falling towards

river hence by head a small area can be commanded

SYSTEM OF DAMS AND CANALS

Submergence

Command Area

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Perhaps several large dams would not be justifiable

INJUSTICE WITHIN COMMAND AREA AND

ALONG THE RIVER

Submergence

• Displacement

Reservoir• Riparian Rights Encroached

Beneficiaries Versus Total deprivers Versus Non-beneficiaries

Head reach farmers take undue advantage and usurp more water

depriving the tail enders - within command area there is

iniquitous 6

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• Large canal network, rehabilitation, land acquisition, etc.

• This phenomenon came to the notice in early seventies and

therefore the schemes like Accelerated irrigation Benefit

Programme and Command Area Development and Water

Management Programme by the Government of India.

• Many dams could not have their command areas fully developed

is a fact.

• This issue results in to total mess of the project, cost hike and

many a time the benefits envisaged at the time of approving the

project are finally never achieved.

LONG GESTATION PERIOD – NEVER

REACHING TARGET BENEFITS

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• Low efficiency – 35 to 50 %

• Uncontrolled irrigation – full command area never gets water

• Water logging – Punjab, Hariyana, etc.

• Boiling states - Cauvery Dispute, Ravi-Beas-Satluj Dispute, etc.

BUNDLE OF ISSUES NOW FELT CRITICAL

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BREAKEVEN POINT IN THE

STRATEGY

JOURNEY SO FAR IS NOT TO BE REVERSED,

BUT THE SIGNS OF BREAKEVEN POINT

MUST BE VIEWED SERIOUSLY9

LOPSIDED DISTRIBUTION OF SURFACE WATER

Sl.

No.

Name of the River Basin Average annual availability in

Cubic Km per Year

1. Indus (up to Border) 73.31

2. a) Ganga 525.02

b) Brahmaputra, Barak & Others 585.60

3. Godavari 110.54

4. Krishna 78.12

5. Cauvery 21.36

6. Pennar 6.32

7. East Flowing Rivers Between Mahanadi & Pennar 22.52

8. East Flowing Rivers Between Pennar and Kanyakumari 16.46

9. Mahanadi 66.88

10. Brahmani & Baitarni 28.48

11. Subernarekha 12.37

12. Sabarmati 3.81

13. Mahi 11.02

14. West Flowing Rivers of Kutch, Sabarmati including Luni 15.10

15. Narmada 45.64

16. Tapi 14.88

17. West Flowing Rivers from Tapi to Tadri 87.41

18. West Flowing Rivers from Tadri to Kanyakumari 113.53

19. Area of Inland drainage in Rajasthan desert NEG.

20. Minor River Basins Draining in to Different Rivers 31.00

Total 1869.3510

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ACTUAL ENCOMPASSMENT OF BENEFITS

Million hectare

It is estimated that about 174 million hectares of land (53%)

suffers from different types and varying degrees of

degradation.

Geographical Area 328.73

Forest 67.8

Not available for cultivation 41.56

Other uncultivated land 28.36

Fallow Land 24.10

Net area sown 142.02

Land Use Details of India (Million Hectare)

Not many dams are feasible – all sites explored – all rivers bound

Up to 10th Plan Irrigation Potential Created – 98.95 Mha, Irrigation

Potential Utilised – 83.56 Mha 11

• Remaining land i.e. outside command area needs to be

addressed which is larger than the irrigated by the

conventional approach

• Dependence on groundwater is not viable everywhere

• Usable water is really scarce and lopsidedly distributed

• Diverting river water can not address the needs

• Dams constructed on all rivers but all agriculturable land

can not be irrigated

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WHAT COULD BE THE PARADIGM

SHIFT

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TRADITIONAL INDIAN PRACTICES• Distributed resource management is the key principle – even distribution

of benefits

• Small scale essential

• Riparian rights a basic consideration

• Various types as per site suitability

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TRADITIONAL INDIAN PRACTICES

• Water viewed wholisticlally – rainfall, run-off, groundwater,

etc.

• Gestation period small

• Capital investment small

• Maintenance and repairs small

• Only protective irrigation – no change in cropping pattern

• Peoples’ participation

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BAMBOO DRIP IRRIGATION SYSTEM

• Bamboo drip irrigation system is

practised mainly in the Jaintia and

Khasi Hills of Meghalaya for the

last 200 years.

• This is a useful irrigation system in

a place where there is water scarcity

and soils are poor in water holding

capacity, the topography is rocky

and undulating and irrigation is

required for crops that need

relatively less water. Bamboo Channels

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ZABO SYSTEM

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ZABO SYSTEM

• The zabo (the word means ‘impounding run-off') system is practiced

in Nagaland in north-eastern India. Also known as the ruza system,

it combines water conservation with forestry, agriculture and animal

care.

• The Zabo system consists of a protected forestland towards the top

of the hill, water-harvesting tanks in the middle and cattle yard and

paddy fields at the lower side.

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CAN THE TRADITIONAL SYSTEMS

BE REVIVED ? ARE THEY REALLY

RELEVANT TODAY ?

NOT AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO DAMS AND

CANALS BUT AS A COMPLEMENT

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CHECKDAMS

• Over 40,000 checkdams in 5 years on participatory basis20

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INSTANT EFFECT

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CONCLUSIONS

Without addressing the entire agriculturable land, potential of

land resources could not be fully utilized and water sector can

not be said to be in order

Placing Water Sector in order is the key to Indian prosperity –

all other corrections would follow

When Mahanalobis Model was accepted, Dr. Rabindra Nath

Tagore sarcastically passed a comment – “Nature has given

different question papers to different countries. If some

country copies the answer-sheet of some other, he would

obviously fail in the examination of nature.”

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THANKS TO ALL23