Revitalizing Public Irrigation in India:

The Evolution of ITP Thinking

Tushaar Shah

What is the problem?

We do not know. But there are visible symptoms of stagnation in public irrigation systems in

India.

Symptoms of Stagnation?

• Command area is inelastic w.r.t investment in new projects, rehabilitation, modernization

• ‘Build-neglect-rebuild’ (BNR) syndrome in place of ‘build-serve-earn-maintain-grow’ (BSEMG) syndrome

• Persistence of head-tail inequity.• Poor ISF recovery.• Shrinking of ‘illegal payments’ by farmers to irrigation

officials.• Tubewell boom in canal commands: ‘vote by feet rather

than by voice’?• Little or no verifiable information on performance of public

irrigation systems against objectives.• Governments/funders interested more in construction than

in management?

Public Irrigation Systems:Design v/s Reality?

This change demands proactive management

of systems

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Impact of improved system management on area irrigatedd by Mahi-Bajaj Sagar in 1999

(Bakliwal & Gupta 2012)

Water of consumed in million m3

ha)

Under political pressure to cope with 2009 drought, Mahi-Bajaj Sagar managers covered 20 percent more wheat area with 60 percent less water to produce a bumber wheat crop with a curtailed budget by:a. Frequent consultations with

farmer leaders on reservoir water level

b. Scientific water scheduling;c. IEC campaign to involve

farmers in desilting canals;d. Activating and involving

WUAs in water distribution;e. Home-grown ‘wara-bandi’ by

WUAs

Indian canal irrigation systems are ‘under-managed’; modicum of management effort dramatically enlarges the area and farmers benefitted, as a case study ( Palliwal &

Gupta) submitted to ITP shows..

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Impact of improved system management on area irrigatedd by Mahi-Bajaj Sagar in 1999

(Bakliwal & Gupta 2012)

Gross area irrigated (ha)Water of consumed in million m3

ha) mm3

14889

13955

16207

17055

8080

m3/ha

Nature of the state

Nature of society

Farmers

Agency

Physical System

Increase in

System GDP

Irrigation

Service; system

maintenanceIrri

gation

Service Fee;

labor; rule

complianceState of Institutions

State of Technology

How do public utilities reinvent themselves to remain relevant?

External Conditions seem to explain why canal irrigation in India was far more central to

agriculture and livelihoods during 19th century and earlier

than it is now.

Chinese Irrigation Modernization Plan: [a] US $ 600 b for modernization over the decade; [b] Irrigation Service

Contracts with WUAs; [c] quality irrigation service; [d] ISF at US $ 75-400/ha; [e] water distribution below outlet by

WUAs.. Text book example of PIM..

Is such a turn around possible in India.. In any public utility?

Turn around of Gujarat Electricity Board

• G

For years until 2000, Gujarat Electricity Board was a drag on the government’s finances, and on the state’s development, roundly hated by consumers and abhorred by farmers.

• A decade later, the same agency metamorphosed into a model public utility, efficient, agile and profitable, winning global awards for innovation and customer service.

Electricity Utility Canal Irrigation

Generation plan Reservior

Transmission system Main system

Distribution system Distribution system

Thousands of customers Thousands of customers

Valuable and scarce resource

Valuable and scarce resource

Water User Associations in Sri Lanka

• Sri Lanka had centuries old traditional institutions for water management sustained by the authority of medieval and then Colonial state.

• These declined after Independence because of powerlessness of local leaders to enforce rules.

• Pres. Rajapakse’s decision to channelize fertilizer subsidies through WUAs breathed new life in WUAs which are more lively and vigorous than before 2005.

Neither in Chinese irrigation nor in Gujarat Electricity nor in Sri Lankan WUAs was the institutional turn-around spontaneous and endogenous. The impetus for change came from the external task environment..

THERE IS NO BEST WAY TO ORGANIZE AND MANAGE A CANAL IRRIGATION SYSTEM OR TO IMPROVE ITS PERFORMANCE. INSTEAD, THE OPTIMAL COURSE OF ACTION IS CONTINGENT UPON ITS INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL SITUATION.

Contingency Hypothesis on Canal Irrigation Performance

Low-level Equilibrium in India’s Canal Irrigation

Low ISF and Poor collection

Lack of resources for O&M and loss of moral

right to demand service or the will to organize into

WUAs

Breakdown in the accountability loop

Mounting deferred maintenance and system atrophy

Poor Irrigation Service

NIMF attacks

here

IWMI-Tata Recommendation:A US $ 1.25 billion National Irrigation Management Fund

in India’s 12th Five Year Plan: 2013-2017

• GoI will compensate every state rupee to rupee, the Irrigation Service Fee they collect from farmers;

• There will be a 30 percent bonus on all ISF collected through WUAs;

• Additional 20 percent bonus for ISF collected through WUAs for volumetric water supply based on service contracts

provided: • [a] GoI funds are not used to replace state budget to ID; • [b] GoI incentive is distributed among systems in proportion

to their ISF collection; • [c] 50 percent of ISF collection are retained by WUAs; and 20

percent retained by their federations at Distributary level;• [d] there is an independent third party verification of the

claims made by each state

Irrigation Service Fee Collection as the Lever of MMI Management Reform:

Outcome-based support rather than Input-based support

Incentive to increase ISF collection through WUAs

Short term medium term long term

Collection Ratio Improves

Better data on IPU

Strong fillip to PIM

Faster CAD

Rationalization of ISF

Volumetric water supply

Irrigation service contracts

Partnership between ID &

WUAs

IPU>=IPC

Conjunctive mgt of ground & surface water

The Rs 6700 crore (US $ 1.25 billion) question is whether state Irrigation Departments will buy

into NIMF

Will NIMF incentives spur PIM?

How best to respond to farmer-led modifications in irrigation systems?

Would better information about performance improve performance?

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

Albert Einstein

Thank You.