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The Institution of Engineers (India) [IEI] is the largest multidisciplinary professional body of engineers that
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the strongest Divisions where Corporate Membership is high.
I am proud to know that Civil Engineering Division Board of the Institution has
published the first Annual Technical Volume on the theme, “Traditional Irrigation Syste ms in
India”.
I am very much happy to learn that total 51 number of articles have been received for
this volume, which are all related to irrigation systems in our country. It is commendable that
the Chairman, Civil Engineering Division Board (CVDB) could encourage the contributors from
various states such as, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana,
Tamilnadu, Manipur, West Bengal, Haryana and Rajasthan who shared their experiences in this
field, which are quite informative and valuable for the practicing engineers in the field of
irrigation. This volume consists of general ideas of irrigation system having the cost effective,
sustainable and pragmatic methodology applied in traditional irrigation systems. It is well
known phenomenon that there are various regions which are having several climatic condition
due to differences in temperature, altitude and rainfall. As a result, the climate is drastically
varying from one place to another especially in northern Himalayan regions, southern coastal
regions as well as dry western & central regions. These methods of traditional systems of water
utilization have overcome many difficult situations over several decades in different places of
the country.
I am proud to know that our learned Corporate Members have contributed their
experiences of irrigation systems in this Volume and the Technical Department of the
Institution has made all liaisons with them.
I must congratulate all Members of CVDB for their whole hearted supports in bringing
out this Annual Technical Volume. I am also grateful to Mr Narendra Singh, Chairman, CVDB and
his team at Uttarakhand State Centre of the Institution for their extensive efforts to publish this
volume. I am confident that the readers will definitely be benefitted for further improvement in
irrigation systems of our country.
H C S Berry, FIE
M essage from. .
It is enriching to learn that the Civil Engineering Division Board of The Institution
of Engineers (India) has successfully brought out its Annual Technical Volume on the
theme, “Traditional Irrigation Syste ms in India” as per decision of 126th CATE and
682nd Council Meetings held at Pachmarhi, Madhya Pradesh in the month of June, 2014.
This volume is a collection of the papers from the Corporate Members of the Institution
who are in the field of irrigation systems.
I congratulate the Chairman and the Members of the Civil Engineering Division
Board for their sincere efforts to bring out this fine collection of articles. I believe that this
compiled volume will be helpful for the academicians and professionals, which will
stimulate further researches into this emerging field of technology.
Civil Engineering Division Board (CVDB) of The Institution of Engineers (India) was taken a
decision to publish the first 'Annual Technical Volume' on “Traditional Irrigation Syste ms in India”.
nd
Council of the Institution at its 682 meeting approved the publication of Annual Technical Volume
by each Division Board covering articles of practicing engineers & technologists in their own fields. This
volume is related to various aspects of irrigation and its allied branches contributed by practicing
engineers and academicians in their respective fields. Undoubtedly, it is a unique initiative being taken
with the objective of documenting innovative ideas, methods and techniques developed in different subject
domain and bring them out in a book form so that the concerned stakeholders may update themselves in
the field of irrigation. This document reflects views and long experiences of engineers working in the
design and development domain and of academicians and researchers as well, which needs to be up-scaled
in larger areas to benefit the farming communities.
This volume may be useful in guiding the irrigation project implementers at various spatial scales,
which is envisaged under recently lunched ' Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana ' with the motto of ' Har
Khet Ko Paani'. There is a need for seriously considering all options including linking of rivers, wherever
feasible; for ensuring optimal use of water resources to prevent the recurrence of floods and droughts.
Harvesting rain water with the pointed objectives of ' Jal Sanchay' and ' Jal Sinchan ', will nurture water
conservation and ground water recharge.
Due to various changes occurred in the irrigation fields at different States of the country, CVDB has
decided to publish the Annual Technical Volume on the theme, “Traditional Irrigation Syste ms in India”.
We are fortunate enough that the Corporate Members of the Institution have contributed their experiences
at this domain in this volume. Total 51 numbers of articles have been published in this book, which are very
much knowledge oriented and would be helpful in improving the existing condition of the irrigation
systems.
We are grateful to all the contributors to this Volume for sharing their innovative ideas and
experiences on irrigation development and management in the country. We hope the readers will
definitely be benefitted by the ideas, experiences and techniques compiled in this compendium and it is
useful to the engineering community in particular and to the society in general.
President Editor
Mr H C S Berry, FIE Mr Narendra Singh, FIE, Chairman, CVDB
Publisher
Dr Anil Kumar, FIE, Secretary & Director General-I/c Edit orial Team
for The Institution of Engineers (India) Technical Department, IEI
Publication Office Mr S Chaudhury
The Institution of Engineers (India)
8 Gokhale Road, Kolkata 700020 Mr N Sengupta Mr K Sen Dr S Ghosh
Ph : 2223-8311/14-16/33-34 Mr T Chakraborty Ms A Dutta Ms S Biswas Sett
Fax : (033) 2223-8345 Mr Partha Mukhopadhyay Mr T K Roy Mr S Bagchi
web : http : www.ieindia.org Ms H Roy Ms N Sikdar Mr P Mukhopadhyay
e-mail : technical@ieindia.org
The Institution of Engineers (India), 8 Gokhale Road, Kolkata 700020, as a body accepts no responsibility for
the statements made by individuals in the paper and contents of papers published herein.
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Contents
Page
Post Independence Scenario in Irrigation Sector in India –Need for Private Participation 17
S. K. Mazumder
Depleting Ground Water Replenishment through Recharge 25
H. S. Chauhan
Irrigation Group Wells in India: A Disregarded Ground Reality 31
R. V. Rama Mohan
Traditional Irrigation Systems in India 40
S. Debnath
Traditional Irrigation Systems in India 46
K. P. Tripathi
Traditional Irrigation Systems of India 57
S. K. Srivastava, R. Singhal
Irrigation Scheduling Systems: Principles and Applications 66
P. K. Singh, S. K. Mishra, A. Kumar
Status of Irrigation Efficiency in India 85
A. Pandey
The Great Ganges Canal of Northern India 93
S. C. Goyal, N. Singh, N. K. Yadav
Land Evaluation for Capability, Irrigability and Suitability for Major Crops and its Management 103
H. C. Sharma, A. Kumar
Traditional Irrigation Systems in Himachal Pradesh 111
N. P. S. Nagi, S. K. Mahammad Sartaj Basha
Sustainable Water Resource Management for Efficient Irrigation System 117
A. Kumar, B. L. Dhyanil, P. K. Mishra
Micro Irrigation in Uttarakhand: Status, Scope and Design Considerations 124
P. K. Singh
Irrigation Systems in Uttarakhand: A Case study 131
T. Raina
Rejuvenation of Hill Channels in Uttarakhand: An Cost Effective Approach 135
R. Kumar
Effective Modification in the Traditional Tapping and Irrigation Techniques for 138
Agricultural Sustainability in Himalayan Region
A. K. Vashisht, H. C. Sharma, R. S. Negi
Traditional Irrigation Systems in Punjab 147
M. L. Ohri
Aspects of Irrigation Systems in Haryana – An Overview 154
N. Singh
Water Harvesting Systems in Central Highlands 159
O. T. Gulati
Appraisal of Kelia Irrigation Systems – A Boon for Tribal part in South Gujarat Region 162
B. V. Bhatt
Conventional and Modern Irrigation System of Gujarat 170
S. K. Shah
System and Present Scenario of Irrigation in Maharashtra 175
V. Ghogare
Traditional Irrigation Systems in Maharashtra 189
P. Jayakumar
PHAD System of Irrigation in Maharashtra 197
A. Suryavanshi
Traditional Rainwater Harvesting System in Hot Arid Zone of India 203
R. K. Goyal, R. K. Singh, P. R. Ojasvi
Traditional Irrigation Systems in Rajasthan: A Review 206
H. Sharma
Water Harvesting System in Thar Desert Region 209
C. V. Nadpara
Traditional Irrigation Systems in South India with Special Reference to Andhra Pradesh & Telangana 214
C. L. N. Sastry
Traditional Irrigation Methods in Telengana State 220
S. V. M. Rao
Wind Powered Water Pumping Systems for Irrigation in Pudukkottai Region 227
Preethika D., Loganayaki S., Ananth S.
Traditional and Modern Irrigation Systems in India 230
A. K. Murthy
Traditional Irrigation Systems in Tamil Nadu 234
A. Veerappan
Methods and Systems of Irrigation in Tamil Nadu 241
R. Paranthaman
A Study on Effective Utilization of Reclaimed Water for Landscape Irrigation in Technical Institution 246
V. Karthikeyan, R. Lavanya
Traditional Irrigation Systems Adopted in Tamil Nadu 251
S. Jayalekshmi
Surface Irrigation Systems in Tamil Nadu 253
B. Srinivasan
Traditional Irrigation Systems in Kerala 260
E. J. Joseph
A Traditional Farming System – Kuttanad, Kerala 268
S. P. Abraham
Traditional Irrigation Methods with Special References to the 273
Ernad, Valluvanad and Palaghat Region of Malabar
Abdulla P. K.
Traditional Irrigation Systems of Kerala 279
Deepu M. R.
A Holistic Approach for Harnessing and Management of Water 283
Resources for Enhancing Agricultural Productivity in Eastern Region
R. C. Srivastava
Traditional Irrigation Systems in Odisha 289
S. Mahapatra
Rivers of West Bengal 295
S. S. Ganguly
Traditional Irrigation Systems in Bengal Delta 301
T. Sanyal
Brief History of Origin of Irrigation in India 304
S. C. Pal
Irrigation System and Water management in India 308
S. Basu
Jharkhand: Water Resources Scenario 312
S. Roy, O. Nath
Traditional Irrigation Systems of Northeast India 315
M. K. Goyal, T. Das, D. Das, S. Gupta
Irrigation Systems in Manipur 320
A. D. Singh
Retrofitting of Irrigation Structures – Prakasam Barrage, Andhra Pradesh: A Case Study 322
I. Satyanarayana Raju
Water Resource Development Planning and Management for Island 325
Ecosystem – A Case Study for Andaman & Nicobar Islands
R. C. Srivastava
Post Independence Scenario in Irrigation Sector in
India – Need for Private Participation
S. K. Mazumder
Former AICTE Emeritus Professor
Delhi Technological University, New Delhi
* somendrak64@gmail.com
Abstract
Although India has made substantial progress in irrigation sector after independence, the performance of many
of the projects is not satisfactory due to various factors discussed in this paper. There is a huge wastage of water
principally due to poor on-farm irrigation management and the wrong pricing policy resulting in low irrigation
efficiency. There is an utter need for private participation in irrigation sector for better management and
efficiency. Some of the constraints of private participation have been highlighted. Some important role
consultants can play in the public-private-partnership (PPP) model, as in roads sector, have been outlined.
Keywords : Irrigation schemes, Efficiency of irrigation, Pricing of water, Private participation
Figure 1 Growth of population, food production and irrigated area in India during 1951-2050
recovery of working expenses as percentage of O & M so far been governed by highly subsidized supply-
costs of irrigation projects is shown in Figure 2. management policies. Maintenance of infrastructure
According to a compilation made by Central Water built at enormous cost is severely constrained due to
Commission (CWC 1990) on financial aspects of shortage of funds resulting in all round deterioration in
irrigation, the total deficit in the year 1986-87 alone the performance of irrigation projects. Examples of
was found to be of the order of Rs.120 billion. cost and time over- run in the case of a few irrigation
Unrecovered costs are subsidies. But one must not projects in India are given in Table 2.
assume that this subsidy accrues only to users of
Need for Private Participation in Irrigation Sector
irrigation. Part of it represents the cost of inefficiency
due to poor planning, design, operation and Need for limited private participation and consultancy
maintenance of the irrigation system. Objective in irrigation management arises due to the following
should be to reduce government subsidy, improve facts:
efficiency and effectively manage irrigation ¨ With the increasing costs of irrigation
water(Mazumder, 2013). Indian Water Resources development (from Rs.42,750/- per ha during 7th
Society in its theme paper on ‘Water: Vision 2050’ plan to 1,00,000/- per ha during 10 th plan) and
(IWRS, 1999) state ‘Water resource development has because of its overall resource crunch, Govt. alone
Table 2 Cost and time overruns in a few irrigation schemes in India
Project Budget Year Budget (Rs. ´106) Increase on Original Budget Comments
Indira Sagar 1984-85 13928.5 Estimated cost for earliest
1988-89 21676.7 56% time of completion.
1993-94 34967.9 151%
2004-05 75000.0 438%
Onkaleshwar 1984-85 5780.00
1988-89 19092.50 230%
1993-94 40000.00 592% Ditto
2004-05
Maheshwar 1985-86 2412.70
1993-94 8240.00 242%
2004-05 23000.00 853% Ditto
Sardar Sarowar 1984-85 42400.00
1986-87 64066.40 51%
1992-93 131806.20 211%
2004-05 275000.00 549% Ditto
Private participation has been encouraged by the ¨ Unlike other commodities which can be supplied
Ministry of water resources (MOWR), Goverment of as per demand, there is a lot of risks in irrigation
India. In section 12 and 13 of the National Water water supply due to unpredictable nature of
Policy (MOWR,1987), it is stated ‘private sector rainfall which is the principal source of irrigation
participation in planning, development and water in India.
management of water resources may help in
¨ Unless there is business ethics and a national
introducing innovative ideas, generating financial
outlook, private sector may try to exploit the
resources and introducing corporate management and
irrigation water to maximize their profit and
improving service efficiency and accountability to
corner as much wealth as possible for their
users’. The Planning Commission, Govt. of India
personal benefits irrespective of long term
(2002), in section VIII (infrastructure) of its 10th five-
environmental damage.
year plan (2002-07) document mentions “Despite
massive investments and impressive achievements, a ¨ Many of the private contractors in water and other
lot more investment is needed to fully harness the sectors carrying out construction/operation of
available irrigation potential. The unit cost of projects/industries have a tendency to bribe
irrigation development is nearly Rs.1,00,000/- per ha authorities to avoid strict adherence to
of CCA. This is so high that even recovery of interest specifications, rules and regulations laid down by
on capital from the service is difficult, unlike many the Govt. for long term benefit to the society.
services which are able to pay for themselves with or
¨ Except a few, most of the private organizations in
without some incentives or subsidies. Hence the
India are accustomed to perform only routine
desirability of mobilizing financial resources from the
type jobs in a haste. They are reluctant to invest
private sector which will ensure better irrigation
enough money and time for quality up-gradation
efficiency and better service’.
Abstract
Because of seepage through unlined canals and heavy and inefficient irrigation the water table has been rising in
some commands in the country. Also there has been a decline of water table in Western Uttar Pradesh, some parts
of Punjab, Haryana and other states because of indiscriminate use and heavy withdrawals of ground water with
the adoption of high-water demanding cropping system, growth of industries, and increasing population. In the
present paper, water availability situation, declining water table, scope of artificial recharge, ground water
recharge techniques and experiences have been discussed.
Abstract
Sharing water for irrigation from wells jointly built and owned by groups of small farmers is a widely existing
traditional practice in India. As per the fourth Minor Irrigation Census (MIC) done by Ministry of Water
Resources, Government of India, there are 20,13,582 group wells in India during 2006-2007. Undivided Andhra
Pradesh occupied sixth position with 44,728 group wells. Sustainable Ground Water Management (SuGWM)
project enumerated a total of 571 existing group-owned wells in six of it’s project Gram Panchayats in undivided
Andhra Pradesh. In contrast, fourth MIC reported absence of any group well in the blocks where project villages
are located. This highlights the need for the MICs to be reformed for better accuracy. A sample study during
2011-2014, on 20 group wells with 50 farmers, revealed that average Rabi crop area under irrigation per farmer
increased dramatically by as much as 129% when these farmers were given sprinkler irrigation kits. Group well
farmers not only used water more efficiently but also shared water more equitably after using sprinkler irrigation
kits. Therefore, there is dire need to recognize the merits of group water sharing practice and offer additional
incentives to those farmers in the micro irrigation schemes.
Keywords : Group wells, Water sharing, Micro irrigation, Water efficiency, SuGWM project, Minor irrigation
census
Table 2 Classification of group wells in six Indian States as per fourth MIC
Geographical Area Dug Wells Shallow Tube Wells Deep Tube Wells Total Group Wells
Rajasthan 863600 63114 76726 1003440
Tamil Nadu 300333 3631 15246 319210
Haryana 1511 231820 29174 262505
Maharashtra 216138 11975 19578 247691
Madhya Pradesh 69569 1849 2253 73671
Andhra Pradesh (undivided) 32843 6763 5122 44728
Total 14,83,994 3,19,152 1,48,099 19,51,245
(iii) SuGWM project is supported by European Union (EU) and Bread for the World (BfdW). More information about the project available at
www.cwsy.org/sugwm
(iv) Micro irrigation is the method of water application directly to plant roots resulting in water saving and increased crop productivity. Sprinklers, drips and
rain guns are the three types of micro irrigation units that are very popular in India
Total group wells are zero during 2006-07, which of the well is considered, only part of the land
leaves us to interpret that all the groups of farmers that belonging to group of farmers gets the eligibility, even
existed earlier disintegrated by 2006-07. Despite the though farmers could irrigate entire pool of land on
normal annual rainfall during 2005-06 (1147 mm) and rotation basis. When group well farmers together
2006-07 (858 mm), the data reported none of the group apply for MI units, a single file number is assigned to
wells in use by 2006-07. Comparing the micro level the group and processed. But, when the water sharing
data of SuGWM project and the census data of the farmers apply separately at different points of time,
Ministry, one could easily conclude that the latter is these Government schemes treat them as individual
not adequately suited or designed to capture field farmers. Thus, it is not possible to retrieve or re-
realities. There appear to be many more number of construct the data about the coverage of group well
group wells than reported by the MIC. farmers under MI schemes accurately.
Group Wells andAccess to Micro Irrigation Andhra Pradesh Micro Irrigation Project (APMIP)
A study of group wells and their access to micro APMIP was launched in 2003 and one of the earliest
irrigation equipment revealed interesting details. initiatives backed by NMMI in India. APMIP reported
Many States in India are receiving support from achieving an impressive coverage of about 1 Mha by
Central Government under National Mission on Micro March 2013. The erstwhileAPMIP was bifurcated into
Irrigation (NIMI) under the Ministry of Agriculture, APMIP and TSMIP for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
Government of India. Some of them, like Tamil Nadu, States respectively, after the formation of these two
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana etc, are offering additional states on June 02, 2014. Since the data and analysis is
subsidies to farmers so as to promote micro irrigation related to the period prior to the bifurcation, the micro
vigorously. irrigation scheme is still mentioned as APMIP, which
refers the earstwhile APMIP in undivided Andhra
But, coverage of existing traditional group well
Pradesh. Data related to APMIP coverage of water
farmers under micro irrigation schemes of various
sharing farmers after the issue of GO 251 in 2011
State Governments is not very significant. Some
(Agriculture and Cooperation Department 2011), was
States like Tamil Nadu terms ‘land-pooling by
obtained using RTI route(vi) for nine districts of
neighbouring farmers’ eligible for accessing micro
undivided Andhra Pradesh for the period 2011 to 2014
irrigation systems (Agriculture Department 2011).
and juxtaposed the same with the number of group
This implies that a joint well or a group well belonging
wells given by fourth MIC (Table 4). In general, there
to more than one farmer is acceptable to the scheme.
is no correlation between the group-owned wells
Andhra Pradesh Micro Irrigation Project (APMIP)
given by fourth MIC and the coverage of water-
included farmers having ‘shared water sources’ as
sharing farmers underAPMIP.
eligible under the scheme in 2011 (Agriculture and
Cooperation Department 2011). Rashtriya Krishi Some points on column (3) on the number of group
Vikas Yojana (RKVY) permitted MI units to both wells and column (4) on number of water sharing
water-giving and water-receiving farmers through a farmers: Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh has
sharing agreement, but water sharing by farmers who highest number of group-owned wells among the nine
jointly own the well is not explicitly mentioned. districts listed above. But, the number of water sharing
farmers under APMIP is the lowest. The number of
All these schemes pay no additional attention or offer water sharing farmers under APMIP is reported to be
priority or offer differential subsidy to these groups. At highest in Ranga Reddy district. Karimnagar,
the implementation level, they are the last priority, Khammam and East Godavari have fewer group wells
basically due to the informal nature of water sharing
and technical limitations. For example, when the yield (vi) RTI request dated March 14, 2014 to O/o Project Officer, APMIP,
Hyderabad
but APMIP provided MI kits to large number of water Within the agriculture category, a sub-category of
sharing farmers. group-owned well may be introduced by the
electricity distribution companies (Discoms). This
Generally, coverage of much higher number of water
helps to identify the group wells more precisely. Since
sharing farmers is due to the fact that APMIP
anything that is not measurable, cannot be efficiently
recognises any group of farmers who comes forward
to share water from a common well. They only need to manageable, this measure not only helps to identify
submit a ‘water-sharing agreement’ signed by those them but also to direct actions specific to them by
farmers and certified by the village level revenue various government schemes. Unique group ID and
official. The farmer in whose land the well is located or farmer IDs under the group ID may be given, as done
in whose name the agricultural electrical connection by SuGWM project to identify water sharing groups,
exists is treated as the owner of the well and rest of the by the Discoms. It is also essential to encourage an
farmers are treated as water receivers. When all these entire group to apply to Government MI scheme in one
farmers apply together, APMIP seems to identify them go, instead of individual applications at different
as a group and assign a common Identification (ID) points of time. The MIP guidelines of Telangana State
number. In case of a well jointly-owned by group of for 2014-15 reflect this view by saying that design of
farmers also, they fit into this system of owner- MI units is to be done taking entire area under the
receiver relationship. When the farmers belonging to sharing arrangement as ‘one unit’.
these groups apply separately instead of as a group, A small additional financial incentive (say, to the
they are treated as individual farmers and assigned extent of 5%) may be introduced in the MI schemes,
different individual ID numbers in the APMIP when the farmers of group wells apply together, over
database. Thus, it may be inferred that APMIP might and above the subsidy offered to the individual farmer.
have covered many more number of water sharing This will result in strengthening of water sharing
farmers but this fact could not be captured as water groups; discouraging digging new individual wells;
sharing groups. saving of money to the farmers due to common Head
On the other hand, there is no authentic method that Control Unit (HCU)(vii) and saving of time of
separates the ‘joint-well owners’ from the pool of processing for both APMIP and the drip installing
‘water-sharing farmers’ listed with the APMIP. Since company.
water rights are not formal in nature, no documentary Group Wells and Water Management
evidence will be available for each individual farmer's
right on the joint wells. When a piece of land is divided Since most of the group wells are energized by
between a farmer’s siblings, the sibling in whose land electricity supply from the grid, farmers in the group
the well is located is recognised as the well-owner and need to cope with the limited hours of electricity
others are treated as receivers. But, customarily, all supply and low recuperation rates for irrigating their
these siblings continue to have right over the well as lands on an equitable basis. Thus, each one's access to
well as a share of water from the well. For the purpose water is limited further in group wells compared to an
of APMIP, since all these siblings have land on their individually-owned well. This necessitates group well
names and have a water-sharing agreement amongst farmers to be more judicious with water use,
them, they are eligible to apply for MI kits. When the particularly in Rabi (winter) and Summer seasons;
farmer did not divide his land among the siblings, they
need a partition deed executed for all of them to be (vii) HCU is a major component installed next to the well in a drip irrigation
eligible. Otherwise, only the farmer is eligible as system. It contains generally sub-components such as pressure valve,
gauges, venturi, filtration unit etc.
individual owner of land and irrigation well.
each should cultivate only a limited extent of land and sample is composed of eight groups with all 17
opt to sow short-duration crops that are less water- farmers using sprinklers kits; six groups with eight
intensive. farmers using sprinklers kits and 10 farmers using
flood irrigation method; and six groups with all 15
Group wells are found to be more efficient in water farmers using flood irrigation method.
use; ensuring access more equitably, and avoiding
over-loading of power distribution network. Making a Rabi 2011 is taken as baseline season with all 50
new well on a sharing basis leads to sharing the farmers following flood irrigation method. But, by
consequences of the well failure and investment accessing sprinkler units from Government schemes
losses. Incurring initial capital expenditure and and SuGWM project, all together 25 of them started
maintenance expenditure later will be alike shared by using sprinklers for irrigation from Rabi 2012 and
the group, reducing the burden on the individual continued in Rabi 2013 also.
farmers in the group. Thus, group wells reduce capital Rabi or winter cultivation season in a year starts from
costs in agriculture and benefit farmers and December and goes upto February. During Rabi
Government (Power Distribution Companies) equally rainfall is scanty and most of the irrigation needs are
in a win-win manner. met from ground water. Due to limited water in wells
There are primarily, two methods of water extraction most of these farmers cultivate only one Groundnut
and application by farmers in group wells, namely, (i) crop during rainy period (June-Sept.) and abstain from
rotational pumping by farmers and (ii) pumping and cultivation during Rabi and summer seasons.
simultaneous distribution to all farmers. This pumping Therefore, extent of cultivation and irrigation during
could be either using multiple individual pump-sets Rabi is the real indicator of the impact of water
belonging to the group well farmers or using a single recharge works done by the project as well the utility
pump-set owned by the group. Normal pump capacity of sprinkler units. Predominant crop cultivated by
in both these cases varies from 5 hp to 7.5 hp. Micro these farmers is Groundnut (about 95% of total
Irrigation (MI) methods, such as drips and sprinklers, irrigated area of the sample farmers) and therefore
have gained popularity in several States with 'total area irrigated' by them is considered instead of
Governments promoting them by offering a good crop-wise areas for comparison across groups and
amount of subsidies on the unit costs. A few states like seasons.
Andhra Pradesh, included group well farmers also as Out of the total 20 sample wells, 13 are tube wells and
eligible for accessing MI kits. remaining are open wells. Since it is possible to pump
To study the pattern of water usage among water using more than one pump-set in the case of open
sharing farmers in groups and to ascertain how MI kits wells, total pump-hours available to open well groups
alter the water access and utilization, a sample study is is theoretically more than that to tube well farmers.
being done by SuGWM project in its project villages Since there is an over-all ceiling on the duration of
since 2011. A total of 20 groups (with 50 farmers) were electricity supply to seven hours a day, a tube well
identified in Kotanka, Maddivarigondi and group has a limitation of 49 pump-hours a week, but an
open well group with three pump-sets, for example,
Masakavankapalli GPs in Anantapur district for this
could pump for a maximum of 147 hours a week. This
study. 13 of the 20 sample group wells are tube wells
distinguishes tube wells from open wells. To check
each having single pump-set for lifting and sharing
whether open well farmers took this to their
water by the farmers in the group. Remaining seven
advantage, and irrigated more area, separate analysis
are open wells, each with farmers having individual
is attempted for these two types of wells.
pump-sets for lifting water (Table 5). Number of
farmers in individual groups varies from two to seven. This study analysed two key parameters: (1) average
In terms of usage of sprinkler irrigation kits, the irrigated area per farmer, and (2) equity in access to
Abstract
During past 50 years area under irrigation has expanded considerably to feed a constantly increasing
population. The water requirement of irrigation sector has also increased which have had a negative impact on
the environment. Mindless and intensive irrigation to increase the global food production had sown the seed for
environmental degradation quite early. The impacts however, are being felt now. In such situation we need to
trust our traditional sustainable practices, which have withstood test of time. Innovations in the form of modern
technologies can also help in combating the challenges in the irrigation sector. Modern practices can be used for
water conservation as well as improved efficiency of the food production. The present paper sites selected
examples of modern and traditional agriculture systems. A case study of Rajasthan is presented to highlight the
problems of the region and suggestion of some corrective measures.
Traditional Irrigation Methods among the users. A temporary headwall is created near
Traditional irrigation practices are discussed by taking the gorge to divert the water in the canals to the fields.
examples of villages and tribes in various parts of The average distance of the canal to the first field is 3
India. Km. As the area has slope, water flows from one
stream to another and finally falls into the gorge
Kuhl System of Irrigation downstream. Controlling the width of outlet between
Kuhl is a traditional irrigation system of Mumta two successive fields controls the flow of water. All the
Village, Gujrat India. A group of water users have users assist in construction of headwall and there is a
association. The head of the association or the water penalty for the offenders. The user if absent, is denied
tender is known as Kohli. His role is rebuilding the dam access to the water. During water scarcity, the kohli
each spring and monitors the distribution of water decides the amount of water to be allocated to the each
field.
Ahar-pyne system flood stopped. However, after the British rule, this
system was abandoned as embankments were created
This system was followed in Bihar. 'Pyne' is the canal
on the flood plains.
through which water is collected in tanks called 'ahars'.
The ahar recharged the ground water and nearby wells Case Study of Rajasthan
could generally absorb a good amount of water. In the
The state has an area of 342 sq km. Drought is a
recent past, attempts have been made to revive this
recurrent phenomenon there. In 100 years there are 7
system in few areas such as Jehanabad in Bihar.
years of acute drought, 27 years of scarcity, 63
Inundation System Of West Bengal manageable years and three normal years. Sir Diggs La
Touche said in 1974, “Ajmer-Marwara can never rely
The banks of the rivers were left to inundate during on two good harvests in succession.” It has only 1%
floods. The flood brought huge amount of silt on the water resource but 5.1% of population of entire
banks. Cultivation was done on the banks after the
The amount of available water remaining in the soil cotton. Allowable depletion volume (%) for some of
decreases as the plants extract water from the soil. The the crops is given in Table 2.
amount of available water removed since the last
Three plant factors important in developing a sound
irrigation or rainfall is called the depletion volume. It
irrigation schedule are: the crop's effective root depth;
can be calculated as:
its moisture use rate; and its sensitivity to drought
stress. The root depth of a crop also influences the
maximum amount of water which can be stored in the
root zone. If the root system of a crop is shallow, little
where, θ represents the soil moisture. Irrigation water can be stored in the root zone and frequent - but
scheduling decisions are often based on the assumption small - irrigation applications are needed. With deep
that crop yield or quality will not be reduced as long as rooting crops more water can be taken up and more
the amount of water used by the crop does not exceed water can be applied, less frequently. Young plants
the allowable depletion volume. The allowable have shallow roots compared to fully grown plants.
depletion volume generally recommended is 50 %. Thus, just after planting or sowing, the crop needs
However, the recommended volume may range from smaller and more frequent water applications than
40 % or less in sandy soils to greater than 60 % in when it is fully developed. Crop roots do not extract
clayey soils. The allowable depletion is also dependent water uniformly from the entire root zone. The
on the type of crop, its stage of development, and its effective root depth is that portion of the root zone from
sensitivity to drought stress. For example, the where the crop extracts the majority of its water. When
allowable depletion recommended for some drought- adequate moisture is present, about 70 % of the water
sensitive crops (vegetable crops in particular) is only used by the crop comes from the upper half of the root
20 % during critical stages of development. The zone. This zone is the effective root depth. The
allowable depletion may approach 60 % during non- effective root zone depths of some of the common
critical periods for drought-tolerant crops such as crops are given in Table 3.
Table 5 Critical growth stages of some important crops in respect of water demand
5. Behera, S.K. and Panda, R.K. (2009). Effect of 18. Fischbach, P.E. (1965). Scheduling irrigation by
fertilization and irrigation schedule on water and electrical resistance blocks. Nebguide 77-340.
fertilizer solute transport for wheat crop in a sub- University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Neb., pp 65-752.
humid sub-tropical region. Agriculture, Ecosystems & 19. Fortes, P., Platonov, A., Pereira, L., (2005).
Environment, 130 (3-4), pp 141-155. GISAREG—a GIS based irrigation scheduling
6. Buttar, G.S., Aujla, M.S., Thind, H.S., Singh, C.J. and simulation model to support improved water use.
Saini, K.S. (2007). Effect of timing of first and last Agric. Water Manag. 77, pp 159–179.
irrigation on the yield and water use efficiency in 20. Gangaiah, B. (2005). Response of oat (Avena sativa)
cotton. Agricultural Water Management, 89 (3), pp varieties to irrigation schedules. Indian Journal of
236-242. Agronomy (India). 50(2), p. pp 165-166.
7. Cancela, J., Cuesta, T., Neira, X., Pereira, L., (2006). 21. George, B.A. Raghuwanshi, N.S. and Singh, R.
Modelling for improved irrigation water management (2004). Development and testing of a GIS integrated
in a temperate region of Northern Spain. Biosyst. Eng. irrigation scheduling model. Agricultural Water
94, pp 151–163. Management, 66, pp 221–237.
8. Chalmers, D.J, Burge, G., Jerie, P.H., Mitchell, P.D. 22. George, B.A., Shende, S.A., Raghuwanshi, N.S.,
(1986). The mechanism of regulation of Bartlett pear (2000). Development and testing of an irrigation
fruit and vegetative growth by irrigation withholding scheduling model. Agric. Water Manage. 46 (2), pp
and regulated deficit irrigation. Journal of the 121–136.
American Society of Horticultural Science 111, pp
904–907. 23. Gontia, N.K. and Tiwari, K.N. (2008). Development of
crop water stress index of wheat crop for scheduling
9. Chalmers, D.J., Mitchell, P.D., Vanheek, L. (1981). irrigation using infrared thermometry. Agricultural
Control of peach tree growth and productivity by Water Management, 95, pp 1144 – 1152.
regulated water supply, tree density and summer
pruning. Journal of the American Society of 24. Grassini, P., Yang, H., Irmak, S., Thorburn, J., Burr, C.,
Horticultural Science 106, pp 307–312. Cassman, K.G., (2011). High-yield irrigated maize in
the Western US Corn Belt: II. Irrigation management
10. Colaizzi, P.D., Barnes ,E.M., Clarke, T.R., Choi, C.Y., and crop water productivity. Field Crops Res. 120, pp
Waller, P.M., Haberland, J., Kostrzewski, M., (2003). 133–141.
Water stress detection under high frequency sprinkler
irrigation with water deficit index. Journal of Irrigation 25. Gulati, M.L., Mishra, M.M., Pal, J.C., Hati, N., (1995).
and Drainage Engineering 129, pp 36–42. Cane yield and water use efficiency of autumn planted
sugarcane under soil and intercropping stand at
11. Daĝdelen, N., Yilmaz, E., Sezgin, F., Gürbüz, T., different levels of irrigation. Indian J. Agron. 40, pp
(2006). Water-yield relation and water use efficiency 279–288.
Spurs were generally built of concrete blocks with The silt clearance was carried out to a profile a little
crates at the back of them to effect a junction with the higher than the theoretical bed profile approved in
stem bund; these crates are subsequently clothed with 1951. The canal was reopened after desilting
boulder masonry, should the spur successfully stand operations on 14.10.1970 and was run with full gauge
and be required as a permanency. from midnight of 14/15 October 1970, to provide
timely irrigation facilities for Rabi crop in extensive
50 cft blocks were used where the blocks have to be irrigable command. The canal bed could attain the non-
laid by Derrick boat and 75 cft where they can be made monsoon regime conditions within a fortnight of it
is situ, the respective size being 5 x 4 x 2½ and 5 x 5 x running and the bed got scoured to levels below
3ft. theoretical bed line. There was no problem up to mid
The New headworks were built of hammer dressed June 1971.
boulder masonry with split boulder masonry hearting, During running of the canal in monsoon of 1971, the
the proportion of the latter being split boulders 60 cft, criteria were adopted for running of the canal, in
3/4 inch shingle 54 cft, and sand 19 cft, Kankar lime 19 accordance with the recommendations of Alakhnanda
cft. Enquiry committee, to close the canal when the
Boulder sets were used for weir floors and consist of sediment concentration reached 12000 ppm, while
large boulders squared on five sides, and laid as precautions were to be taken when it was above 7000
headers in either fine lime or cement concrete and ppm. Towards the end of August, substantial silting
cement pointed. The sets were generally 12" in depth was found in the canal, and there after the canal was not
In order to finalise the standing Regulations orders for The following recommendations were recorded,
monsoon running of the canal, the problem was lThe volume of deposit should be the main
referred for necessary study and recommendations to criteria as per conclusion V above, the mean bed
Dr. Bharat Singh, an eminent engineer and professor at level at M 4-0 is only a rough guide.
WRDTC, University of Roorkee, by Shri P. Yog Chief
Engineer Ganga U.P. irrigation vide his letter dated lAs bed load cannot really be accurately
19.10.1972. measured, control by bed load will not be found
practical.
Dr. Bharat Singh, after in depth studies on the data
supplied by the irrigation Department U.P., from lRunning full capacity even when the demand is
observations, during Monsoon running of the canal less is not necessarily beneficial. The aspect
during 1971 and 1972, arrived at the following main need further field study.
conclusions. lIt is considered that running the canal down to
The hrdraulic roughness of the canal varies from
v 8000 cusec will probably not result in greater
day to day and on a given day it varies along the total deposition than at 9500 cusec or more.
reach. The values during the monsoon season lThe pond level at Pathri P.H. has important
are considerably lower than those in the rest of influence on transport capacity. From 1st July to
the year. 31st October the pond level should be restricted
The capacity
v to transport 'bed material load' to 915.5 and thereafter gradually raised and
(about half of the total load) during monsoon normally full pond level of 918.50 ft be allowed
with Pond level at Pathri power station (Mile 7- to be maintained after 31st January. Under shot
3) at 915.50 was computed as, 1600 ppm to 250 running at by pass can have only local effect.
ppm from mile 2-6 to mile 7-0 respectively.
lThe observations made during 1971 and 1972
Other conditions remaining the same, if pond are adequate and should be maintained.
level at Pathri is raised to 918.5 ft, (FSL) the
lRedesign of Mayapur works and provision of
reduced transport capacity for bed material load
silt ejector can undoubtedly improve
were found from 1000 ppm to 75 ppm at Mile 2-
conditions.
6 and 7-0 respectively. These variations occur
due to variations in hydraulic roughness and Considering the above study and recommendations,
energy gradient. the Standing Regulation orders at head works of the
"During clear water season, with high values of
v
canal were reviewed, modified and approved. This
n and high pond at Pathri P.H., the transport rates followed the exercise of revision of standing
would be considerably lower". regulation orders at other head works in the state.
Ambrish Kumar
Principal Scientist, ICAR – Indian Institute of Soil & Water Conservation, Dehradun
* aktswc@yahoo.com
Abstract
Land evaluation in broad aspect is to assess current and future potential of land for given purpose and to plan
land use in such a way that the resources of the environment are put to the most beneficial use for mankind. Also it
enables one to get a picture of the hazards of the soils to various factors that cause soil damage, deterioration or
lowering in fertility and its potentiality for production. To get optimum returns from available land and water
resources it is necessary that the land should be evaluated for its capability, irrigability and suitability for major
crops. Owing to this need, the present study was conducted for soils of Budaun district and the land was evaluated
on the basis of various land features and soil characteristics. The study revealed that Parauli series was under
class I for land capability class while Dataganj and Ujhani Series were in class I for irrigability, which implies
that these soils have no significant limitation for different use of crop. Bagrain series was evaluated as class I in
irrigability and capability both. Also the suitability studies of entire study area resulted that wheat and sugarcane
were moderately suitable while maize and paddy were marginally suitable. On the basis of the suitability of
different soil series, and their morphological, physical and chemical characteristics, their use and management
for agricultural crop production have been suggested.
l- loam, sil- silty loam, sicl- silty clay loam, sl- sandy loam, ls- loamy sand, s- sand, cl- clay loam, imp - imperfectly drained,
pr - poorly drained, mw - moderately drained, wd - well drained, ed- excessively drained
indicated in the identification legend given with the Texture and Structure influences the air water balance
map. in the root zone and movement of water. Depth of soil
governs the depth of root zone, leaching and runoff
Land capability classification: Land capability
losses. The gradient and slope profoundly affects the
classification is an interpretative grouping of soil
rates of runoff and soil removal and indirectly amount
mainly based on inherent characteristics of soil,
of moisture absorbed by soil. The degree of erosion
external land features and environmental factors that
indicates decrease of productivity and suggests the
limit the use of land.
future use and treatment to overcome climatic factors
The taxonomic soil units established after field and that can place limitations on land use. A.I.S.L.U.S.O.
laboratory studies and their correlation are the ultimate (1970) grouped these factors into various land
management units that afford specific inherent capability classes ( Table 3 ) on the basis of severity of
information about ability of the soil to respond to use, limitation in crop production.
management and plant growth. The inherent soil
Capability classes : The land capability classes range
characteristics so identified have a definite role to play
from class I to VIII. The land of first four classes i.e
in the behaviour of the soil and its management such as
class I to IV, is suited for cultivation and of last four
parent material gives an idea of potential nutrient
classes i.e. class V to VIII, not suited for cultivation.
status of soil. Soil colour speaks of organic matter
The land of class V to VII is suitable for pasture and
content and the state of leaching and hydration.
forestry, and of class VIII is suitable for wild life. The
degree of permanent limitations increases when we
move from class I to class VIII, which implies that soils
of class I have no significant limitations, class II soils
have moderate limitations that reduce the choice of
plants or require moderate conservation practices,
class III soils have severe limitations that reduce the
choice of plants and require special conservation
practices. In the similar manner the limitations go on
increasing till class VIII soils.
Sub classes : Sub classes are given according to British
Columbia Land Inventory (BCLI) classification
system. They are indicated by small case letters such as
'c' for adverse climate, 'd' for low permeability or
undesirable soil structure, 'e' for erosion limitation, 'm'
Figure 2 Soil Association Map of Budaun District
for moisture limitation, 'n' for salinity, 'p' for stoniness, investigation were set against these requirements on
't' for topography and 'w' for excess water, drainage the framework of Sys (1980). The Land Rating Indices
problems and overflow. (L.R.I.) were then calculated, as follows, using the
formula proposed by Sys:
Land irrigability classification : This classification is
done by USBR method of land irrigability L.R.I. = A. (B/100) . (C/100) (1)
classification. This method is based on different factors
This value of L.R.I. was then compared against
causing limitations. It is quite recent, the factors
suitability class definition. These are S1 (highly
encountered are texture, depth, erosion, infiltration,
suitable) when L.R.I. is 75 or above; S2 (moderately
wetness, fertility, alkali/salt limitation. This is a broad
suitable) when L.R.I. is between 50 and 75; and S3
level of generalization. This classification has similar
(marginally suitable) when L.R.I. is between 25 and
considerations as those of land capability
50. When L.R.I. is below 25 the land is considered to be
classification. Accordingly, 5 land classes have been
not suitable (N).
identified. Three of them are suitable for general
irrigation, one is limited suitable or suited for special 2. Limiting Condition Model (FAO, 1976) : In
crops and only one is unsuitable for irrigation. deciding the suitability class on limiting condition
model, the individual land characteristics/ qualities
Sub classes : This is the second degree of
rated equal to or above 85 was considered as highly
generalization. Each class of soil is sub divided into
suitable (S1), between 60 and 85 as moderately suitable
sub classes according to dominant kind of limitations,
(S2), between 45 and 60 as marginally suitable (S3) and
which is indicated by small case letters e.g. t, e, s, w,
below 45 as unsuitable (N). The overall suitability of
etc. USBR (1953) grouped the above mentioned
the soil group was then decided on the basis of the
factors into various land irrigability classes and sub
lowest individual rating as limiting to overall
classes (Tables 4 & 5).
suitability.
Land suitability classification : Three models were
3. Productivity Rating Index Model (Soil Survey Staff,
used for the land suitability studies as given below,
1951) : In this model the Productivity Rating Index
1. Sys Model (Sys, 1980) : The climate, landscape and (PRI) was calculated as follows using the yield data.
soil requirement for the crops under investigation in
In the present investigation the standard yields of
relation to limitations and suitability classes were
maize, paddy, wheat and sugarcane crops were taken as
taken as per guidelines of Sys (1980). The observed
50, 60, 60 and 900 q/ha, respectively. The PRI's were
climatic, landscape and soil data in the area under
Table 6 Suggested guidelines for comparing crop yield with suitability class for developing countries
* % of optimum yield in the present investigation has been taken equivalent to productivity rating index (PRI)
Taking into consideration all the three models finally fertilizers for better results. Thus, the soil series that
the overall suitability of all four crops for the soils of are marginally suitable could be made moderately
Budaun district indicated that sugarcane and wheat suitable and the soils that are moderately suitable could
were moderately suitable while maize and paddy were be made highly suitable if the above management
marginally suitable. practices are provided.
Use and Management References
On account of varying characteristics of soils and 1. Bali, Y.P. and R.L. Karale, 1978. Soil survey
associated landscape features the behaviour of soils interpretations for watershed development. In: Soil
towards crop production also varies. In view of this the Resource data for Agricultural Development, Leslic, S.
and D. Leslic (ed.), pp.73-84.
use and management of each soil for a particular crop
shall be governed according to its characteristics, 2. Challa, O., A.R. Kalbande, S.L. Durge and S. Vadivelu,
climate and socio-economic conditions prevailing in 1989. Land evaluation for irrigation by two systems. Jl.
the area. This aspect is being discussed here. The major Indian Soc. Soil Sc., 37(3), pp 532-538.
problem associated with the soils of Alampur, 3. Dutta, H.K and R.M. Karmakar,1998. Soil survey of
Amritpur, Babrala, Bhatoli, Gunnaur and Sahaswan horticultural orchard of Assam Agricultural University,
series is its imperfect to poor drainage. At improved Jorhat. Jl. Agri. Sc. Soc. of North East India 11:1,
level of management with the provision of surface pp 10-14.
drainage, the soil productivity could be improved to 4. FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
high suitability level for all major crops. Nations),1976. A Framework for Land Evaluation.
Soils Bull. 32, FAO, Rome, 72 pp.
Alampur, Amritpur, Sahaswan, Sultanpur and Sikarpur
are associated with moderate to severe slopes that leads 5. Kumar S., A.K. Sharma, T.R. Rathore, and H. N. Singh,
to the problem of erodibility. These problems could be 1995. Soils of Budaun district of U.P. Research
Bulletin No. 2.
easily managed with adequate provision of irrigation
and land leveling and proper application of fertilizers 6. Madsen, H.B., 1979. Soil surveying for evaluating soil
and manures. The soils of Bagrain, Babrala, Dataganj, capability on the basis of soil water retention, root
Parauli, Sikarpur, Sultanpur and Ujhani are coarser in development of barley and simulated plant production.
texture due to which nutrient and moisture availability Folia Geographica Danica, 10(5), pp 203-206.
to crops are low. Addition of organic manures would be 7. Mapa, R.B., 1990. Evaluation of irrigation suitability
fruitful for getting optimum yields from these soils. for two Srilanka soils. In: Int. Agri. Engg. Conference
The soils require frequent irrigation and high doses of and Exhibition, Bangkok, Thailand, Vol. III, pp 819-
823.
The following are the main organs of drip irrigation Commonly used Traditional Systems in Himachal
method: water pump, main PVC, pipeline, branch PVC Pradesh
pipeline connected to main line, plastic pipes (i) Kul
connected to branch line, drippers connected with
plastic pipes, fertilizer tank for application of Kuls are water channels found in precipitous mountain
fertilizers, valve, water measure, pressure controller, areas. These channels carry water from glaciers to
filter etc. Internal radius of side pipe is from 10 to 32 villages in the Spiti valley of Himachal Pradesh.
segment was dug befitting with the hydraulic gradient. settlement of downside long wall, i.e. away from the
The main conveyance GI pipeline was connected with road. Hence gabions from outside were erected to
the distribution tank which is located in a drop of 36.48 avoid any outward movement of the down wall or
m with reference to the elevation of the source. subsidence of the structure when tank is full. In other
word, the placement of gabions on downside to retain
Distribution Tank
the wall of the tank was done like an arrangement of
A masonry tank of size (7.4 x 5.5 x 1.8 m) and a counterfort to the wall.
DPAP – Drought Prone Area Programme; DDP – Desert Development Programme; NEH – North Eastern &
Himalayan states
Table 3 Cost of MI Technologies under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana
and the flow rate of ith lateral is Putting the values the head loss up to first terrace can
be given as :
qr = Ni × Np × qa (7)
K b K r Q12 (Q1 / C )1.852 L1 (9)
h1 = 2 + K ×
Where, Np – number of drippers per plant ; qa – D4 D 4.87 100
average dripper discharge (lph) and ql – flow rate of th
lateral on ith terrace (lph) n Terrace
The system capacity or sub-main flow rate can be Discharge after (n – 1) th terrace Qn = Qm – (q1 + q2 +
calculated as ……+qn-1 )
(11)
proportionately. Further there arises a water conflict systems in high slopes and altitudes.
between the users of this single source of water. This To study
l the feasibility of different types of drip
warrants a situation where water use efficiency need to and sprinkler in slopes and altitudes.
be enhanced by employing suitable micro-irrigation
systems that are gravity fed, low cost and simple in To prepare
l the water budget both at watershed
design, operation and maintenance so as to encourage and farm level.
the small farm-holders of the state to adopt widely. To work
l out Water Use Efficiency, Benefit Cost
Under this backdrop that farming community faces the Ratio and Yield rates and Net Return potential
arduous task of choosing between drinking water for farmers for different MI systems installed in
(including water required for other household varied slope/ altitude/ crop mix.
purposes) and providing life saving irrigations at the To study
l the economics and feasibility of up-
critical crop growth stages in non-monsoon seasons, scaling them in other locations.
Figure 1 Gravity based Micro-irrigation system filtration & distribution assembly below water tank
The water preservation system is given in Figure 2 for system, Micro sprinkler system and Chapin tape
farmers, whereas the pressure compensating drip irrigation system have been depicted in Figure 3 to
Figure 5, respectively.
Agriculture cannot be left on the fate of rainfall, since decrease in near future (IPCC, 2007). For fulfilling the
majority of the population residing in the Himalayan continuously increasing demand for food and fiber by
region is involved in this occupation directly or ever-increasing population, agricultural production
indirectly. Thus, the availability of water resources cannot be left on the fate of rainfall. It has been
throughout the year (especially in the recession period) estimated that India's ultimate irrigation potential
is the basic requirement for sustaining the agricultural without inter-basin sharing of water is 139 million-
production in the region. However, from the last few hectare (Mha) (ICID, 2008). In 1951, the total
decades the climatic variability has drastically reduced irrigation potential of the country was 22.6 Mha (Pre-
the flow through natural springs and streams. The Plan) which has increased to 93.95 Mha till the end of
water tapping and irrigation practices which were IX five-year plan (i.e. 1997-2002). India receives an
based on the high-flow conditions of these water annual precipitation (including snow) of about 4000
resources have gone out of service. To cope with this billion cubic meters (BCM), but its distribution is
changed scenario, in what way the farmers have extremely uneven both spatially and temporally.
adapted the suitable modifications in the existing water Currently, agriculture accounts for more than 80% of
tapping and application techniques are presented in water withdrawals in the country. It has been projected
this chapter. Also, wherever practicable, proven by Central Water Commission (CWC) that the
technologies based adaptive measures are suggested. irrigation water demand in India will rise from 688
The adaption of any modification in the existing BCM in 2010 to 910 BCM in 2025 (CWC, 2010).
practice depends on the flow rate (or depth of flow) of
About 80% of the population in the Himalayan region
the available water resource, its flowing behavior
is involved in the agricultural occupation. In
(seasonal or perennial), its distance from cultivable
comparison to plane areas, groundwater abstraction
land, and topography of the area.
through wells in the Himalayan terrain is quite difficult
Introduction due to its rocky geological formations (Vashisht,
2008). Hence, the entire Himalayan biodiversity is
In recent years, the occurrences of extreme events such
dependent on perennial springs and surface water
as droughts and floods have been on raise almost
streams. However, the adverse weather conditions due
worldwide (Al-Mukhtar et al., 2014). The Greater
to change in climate have caused detrimental effect on
Himalayas is also witnessing these extremes and the
the flow rate and the perennial nature of these
variation in the availability of water temporally and
resources (Chaudhary and Bawa, 2011; Vashisht and
spatially is getting wider day-by-day in the region. The
Sharma, 2007). In the last four- to five-decades, the
Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental
majority of the springs have either dried-up or has
Panel on Climate Change has also pointed out that the
become seasonal. Consequently, the flow rate in the
availability of freshwater in Asia is projected to
perennial surface water streams has also decreased
Figure 11 Diagrammatical
representation of
traditional low elevation
spray application (LESA)
device
2. Anonymous, 1980. Measurement of seepage losses 11. Kumar, M., Kumar, N., Singh, K.P., Kumar, P.,
from canals. IS: 9452 (part I & II), Indian Standard Srinivas, K., Srivastva, A.K., 2009. Integrating water
Code of Practice. Bureau of Indian Standards, New harvesting and gravity-fed micro-irrigation system for
Delhi. efficient water management in terraced land for
growing vegetables. Biosystems Engineering 102, pp
3. ASAE Standards, 2005. ASAE S526.2 Soil and Water 106-113.
Terminology. St Joseph, MI, USA.
12. Lambert, A., 2000. What do we know about pressure:
4. Chaudhary, P., Bawa, K.S., 2011. Local perceptions of leakage relationships in distribution systems?, in:
climate change validated by scientific evidence in the System approach to leakage control and water
Himalayas. Biological Letters 7(5), pp 767–770. distribution systems management', specialized
5. CWC (Central Water Commission, India), 2010. conference proc., IWA, Brno, Czech Republic.
Water and related statistics. Water Resources 13. Lansford, W.M., Dugan, W.G., 1941. An analytical
Information System Directorate, Information System and experimental study of the hydraulic ram. Bulletin
Organization, Water Planning & Projects Wing. XXXVIII (22), University of Illinois, Urbana.
6. Gober, P., 2013. Getting outside the water box: the 14. Mishra, R., 1996. Spatially varied steady flow in
need for new approaches to water planning and policy. irrigation canals. Agricultural Water Management 30,
Water Resources Management 27, pp 955-957. pp 217-235.
7. Gomes, R., Marques, A.S., Sousa, J., 2011. Estimation 15. MoWR (Ministry of Water Resources), 2012.
of the benefits yielded by pressure management in National Water Policy, 2012. Government of India.
water distribution systems. Urban Water Journal 8(2), Available at <http://wrmin.nic.in/writereaddata/
pp 65-77. linkimages/NWP2012Eng6495132651.pdf>.
8. Hajkowicz, S., Collins, K., 2007. A review of multiple 16. Semwal, R.L., Nautiyal, S., Sen, K.K., Rana, U.,
criteria analysis for water resource planning and Maikhuri, R.K., Rao, K.S., Saxena, K.G., 2004.
Pong Dam
Canal Administration is primarily responsible for An Act to regulate irrigation, namely 'Northern India
Canal and Drainage Act, 1873 has been enacted for this
operation and maintenance of a very well developed
purpose.
and widespread 14500 kms long canal system and 5
Head Works. Total cultivable command area in Punjab Sirhind Canal System
is 42.90 lac hectare out of which 30.88 lac hectare has The Sirhind Canal is a large irrigation canal that carries
been brought under command of canals networks (in water from the Sutlej River in Punjab state, India. It is
addition to pre-partition utilization of 32MAF in one of the oldest and biggest irrigation works in the
Shahnehar Canal System). Indus river system, and was inaugurated in 1882. He
The canal infrastructure which was developed in pre canal begins at Ropar headworks near Ropar city in
independence and post independence period as per Rupnagar district of Punjab.
details: The Sirhind Canal begins at Ropar and heads
Canal irrigation systems in Punjab comprise of southwest to Doraha in Ludhiana district. At Doraha,
the canal splits into three: the Abohar branch, the
Sirhind Canal system
v Bathinda branch and the Patiala branch. Each of these
Bist Doab Canal system
v further subdivides extensively to irrigate a large
swathe of the Malwa region of Punjab. Once a partially
Bhakra Main Line (BML) Canal system
v
arid zone, this area is now extremely fertile due to the
Upper Bari Doab Canal system, Kashmir Canal
v water distributed by the canal network.
Ferozepur Feeder/Sirhind Feeder system
v Bist Doab Canal System
Eastern Canal system
v The Bist Doab Canal off takes from the right bank of
Makhu Canal system
v river Sutlej upstream of Ropar headwork. The Bist
Shahnehar Canal system
v Doab Canal system, constructed in 1954-55, is spread
over a length of 805 km. The canal has an authorized
Kashmir Canal system.
v capacity of 1452 Cs. with a culturable command area
The Rajasthan
v Feeder and Bikaner Canal which of 1.99 lac hect. Over the years, the carrying capacity
carry Ravi-Beas water exclusively for Rajasthan of the canal has got reduced to 1000 Cs. The system
run a considerable length over Punjab Territory. needs comprehensive rehabilitation/ renovation.
Check Flooding
Canal Head Regulator
Check Flooding is used for: Fodder Crops
A canal head regulator is provided at the head of the
45canal offtaking from the diversion headworks.
Silt Excluder
A silt excluder is a structure in the undersluices pocket
to pass the silt laden water to the downstream so that
only clear water enters into the canal through head
regulator.
Tube wells
Sprinkler Irrigation
It is the lifting of water by pumping from underground
Sprinkler Irrigation used for: Brinjal, Carrot reservoir. Extensive surface irrigation results in an
increase in the ground water level due to percolation
and seepage which causes water logging in large areas.
Irrigation by this method will reduce the yield. Tube
well offers a remedial measure by providing sub
surface drainage.
Tube well irrigation can be obtained more quickly than
from surface water project. Large costs involve in
making canals for the construction of headworks,
whereas less cost is involved in constructing
Lift Irrigation System tubewells.
When the main source is at the lower level than the Types of Irrigation Systems
supply level. Then water is supplied through some Ditch Irrigation
mechanical means. This is known as lift irrigation.
This can be done by the following methods.
Lift from canals.
l
Open wells.
l
Tube wells.
l
Abstract
Haryana is one of the smallest and progressive states of India. It has a population of 25.40 million, a
geographical area of 4.421 Mha (Million Hectare), and most of the land is flat. About 65% of the population is
rural based and generally engaged in agriculture and allied professions. Precipitation is only in the form of
rainfall, which is erratic and uneven distributed, varying from about 1100 mm in the northeastern parts of the
state to about 300 mm in the southern & southwestern parts. The total culturable command area of the state is
3.664 Mha, of which 3.102 Mha is served by different means of irrigation like canals, wells, public & private tube
wells, etc. There are four major irrigation systems (viz. Western Yamuna canal system, Bhakra canal system, Lift
irrigation system and Agra canal & Gurgaon canal systems) and two minor/ micro irrigation systems (viz.
Sprinkler irrigation system and Drip irrigation system) available in the state for irrigating the crops. In this
paper, efforts have been made to provide an overview of the existing irrigation systems in Haryana along with
elaboration of difficulties faced by the state in their operation and water distribution disputes with the
neighboring states.
Keywords: Major irrigation systems, Micro irrigation systems, Culturable command area, Irrigation potential,
Crop intensity, Water distribution disputes
Introduction
On 1st Nov., 1966 the state of Haryana was borne after
the trifurcation of the state of Punjab, while the western
district were kept in Punjab, above northern areas
(district Shimla & Kangra) were merged into the state
of Himachal Pradesh and the eastern & south-eastern
parts were formed into the new state named as
Haryana. After the division, the necessitated asset and
liabilities of the undivided state were divided into the
new states roughly in the ratio 60:40 (Punjab:
Haryana). Thus the then irrigation department of Figure 1 Net area irrigated by different means in Haryana
Punjab was also divided between newly created states.
This created problem in the distribution of the MAF (Million Acre Feet) against the total availability
available water resources like many other problems for of 18.75 MAF as given in Table 1. Because of the
the division of assets. Some of these problems still limited water resources available to the state and wide
continue to be unsolved and continue to be bone of gap between the demand & availability, it difficult to
contention between the two states [1]. meet with the growing demand of various sectors like
agricultural, domestic and industrial. The present
Net Area Irrigated by different Means average utilization of water in the state is 13.58 MAF
As mentioned in the Statistical Abstract Haryana 2013- as given in Table 2 [3, 4].
14, the net area irrigated by different means (like Irrigation Network of Haryana State
canals, tube wells, etc.) has been increased from 1.293
Mha in 1966-67 to 3.102 Mha in 2012-13 as shown in After the formation of Haryana, one of the priority
Figure 1 [2]. areas of the state government has been creation of
irrigation infrastructure to meet the growing demands
Demand and Availability of Water Resources of agriculture as well as drinking water. This was
The estimated demand of water for irrigation including necessary, as 54% of the area has underground
domestic and industrial uses for the state is about 33.65 brackish water. Over the years an extensive irrigation
network has evolved consisting of 59 main canals Western Yamuna Canal System
having a length of 1500 km and 1326 distributaries &
Western Yamuna Canal (WYC) off taking from river
minors having a length of 12328 km as shown in
Yamuna was constructed in 1335 A.D. during Feroj
Figure 2. Presently 80% of the total culturable
Shah Tughlaq's rule but it ceased to flow in 1750 due to
command area of the state is irrigated with cropping
excessive siltation. Government of India appointed
intensity of 181% [4].
Mr. G. R. Blane, an Engineer of Bengal Engineers in
Major Irrigation Systems 1817 to restore old Mughal canal. The canal was de-
silted and renovated during a period of 3 years. There
There are four major irrigation systems in the state as
was no permanent head works constructed on river
shown in Figure 3 and discussed below [4- 6].
Yamuna. The supplies in canal rose and fell with the
seasonal variation in the flow of river. The famine of
1832-33 led to remodeling of the canal and
construction of weir on Yamuna at Tajewala and a low
masonry dam at Dadupur & Somb torrents about 19.2
km downstream of Tajewala were constructed during
1875-79. The Sirsa branch, the largest of the branch
canals of WYC was constructed during 1889-1895.
The WYC system was extensively remodeled and
extended during 1940-43. In order to tackle the
problem of excessive entry of silt and also from safety
point of view, Govt. of India in consultation with
Haryana and U.P. decided to replace the old Tajewala
head works with modern Hathnikund Barrage across
river Yamuna as shown in Figure 4a.
As per the agreement, the cost of the barrage is shared
between Haryana and U.P. in the ratio of 2/3: 1/3. The
barrage has 10 bays of 18 meter size. WYC is 82 km
long with head discharge capacity of 16000 cusec.
WYC and its branches feed water to Kurukshetra,
Figure 2 Irrigation network of Haryana state
through a system of pipes usually by pumping as have been embroiling in a water sharing dispute from
shown in Figure 6. The water is then sprayed into the Ravi and Beas rivers. The Government of India
air and irrigated entire soil surface through spray heads allocated 3.5 MAF (Million Acre Feet) of the water to
so that it breaks up into small water drops which fall to Haryana in March 1976. To carry its share of surplus
the ground. Sprinklers provide efficient coverage for water, Haryana suggested construction of a link canal
small to large areas and are suitable for use on all types in the territories of the two neighboring states. Haryana
of irrigable soils. started construction of the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL)
canal in 1976 and completed it in 1980 Figure 8.
This system is adopted for judicious use of available
water. By the adoption of this system, more area Punjab abruptly stopped work on the canal in July
become available for cultivation and the water is 1990. Haryana approached Hon'ble Supreme Court
effectively used [13]. (SC) in 1996 seeking direction to Punjab and the Union
Drip Irrigation System of India to complete the canal in a time bound manner.
The SC, in January 2002, ordered Punjab to complete
Drip irrigation is the most efficient method of
irrigating. While sprinkler system is around 75-85%
efficient, drip system typically is 90% or higher. Drip
irrigation works by applying water slowly and directly
to the soil with the help of a dripper/ emitter as shown
in Figure 7.
The high efficiency of drip irrigation results from two
primary factors. The first is that the water soaks into
the soil before it can evaporate or run off. The second is
that the water is only applied where it is needed (at the
plant's roots), rather than sprayed everywhere [14, 15].
The potential area under micro irrigation in Haryana is
given in Table 3 [16].
From the Table 3, it is clear that the state is not fully
utilizing the potential of the micro irrigation systems
and need more efforts for their optimization so as to
increase the crop intensity and to conserve the
available water resources.
Inter State Water Distribution Disputes
After the erstwhile Punjab was reorganized into
Punjab and Haryana in November 1966, the two states
Figure 8 Sutlej Yamuna Link canal
Table 3 Potential area under micro irrigation in Haryana
The Project was designed to serve the backward and Cropping Pattern
underdeveloped region of the state i.e. Vansda, The cropping pattern was expected to immerge under
Chikhali Taluka of the Navsari district. The facilities of irrigation condition, which has been adopted for
irrigation to this region are proving to be a boon to planning the irrigation system as shown in Table 2.
farmers, who were at life at the mercy of the
weather. Construction of Kelia Project in Table 2 Original Cropping Pattern
this region has obviously made a significant
impact on the social-economic life of the
agriculture community.
Soil and Topography
The soil in the command area have residual
origin derived from the Volcanic Deccan
trap rock and accurse on a ridge to valley
formation. The soil is 29.80% of the CCA
are very deep (More than 90 cm.). In 35.8 %
of the area, the soils are deep (45 to 90 cm.)
and in 34.4 % are they moderately deep
(22.5 & 45 cm.). The soil colors vary from
yellowish brown to dark brown in the
surface and subsurface. The texture of
surface soil up to 30 cm. is about 23.8 % is
fine and, in 76.2 % it is medium. The
surface & subsurface layers thus
predominantly consist of medium to fine
texture followed by weathered basaltic
material (murram).
The table depicts the changes (in bold letters) not only means, little-irrigated area generating more water
in the cropping pattern but also reveals the less demands; in other words, existing capacities are not
efficiently irrigated land. Against a total planned area sufficient to take care of originally planned CCA with
of 2,574.24 Ha., at present only about 60% area is ongoing practices. According to IBRD
being irrigated. The farmers are practicing a recommendations, fortnightly crop water requirements
completely modified cropping pattern, and the same are estimated by the Modified Penmen Method (FAO
may result in the decreased area under cropping. It is publication no. 24, revised 1977). These compare
observed that almost 50% of cropping pattern has
revised that include the introduction Table 4 Proposed Cropping Pattern for Kelia Project
of Sugarcane and banana that require
regular watering round the year.
A revision in the planned allocation of
water along with modernization of
canal system may be anticipated
shortly to keep the tribal area involved
in agricultural activities else these
areas will be forced to turn up into
urbanization, creating demand on
other resources at large becoming
consumers instead of producers.
Table 4 suggests on constant
switching over rather a reduction in
CCA from initial 103% to 60% and
now, based on current cropping
practices, another reduction to 56%. It
weight of the seed sown. The Kohli's role is on the quantity of water to be allocated to each
multifunctional. He is in charge of rebuilding the dams irrigator.
each spring and coordinates and administers the
Irrigation water application to the field also varied
distribution of water as well as other social and
from location to location and to the need of farmers.
political aspects of the system. The community
Some of the important water application methods are
irrigation system involves construction of temporary
described in Table 2.
headwall in the gorge to divert water through a canal to
the fields. At the beginning of the season the work is It is observed that various type of flood method of
started. Waters flows continuously from one field to irrigation is commonly and traditionally followed are
another since the fields are sloped and finally drains liable to loss of water conveyance, distribution and
into the gorge downstream. If a person remains absent evaporation. Therefore, about 30-40 % of applied
without valid reason during the construction of the water is being utilized by the crop rest is leached out;
headwall, he is denied water for the season as a evaporated, or lost through surface run off.
punishment. During days of scarcity the Kohli decides
In modern farming of Gujarat, Micro Irrigation System The comparison of Sprinkler and Drip Irrigation on
(MIS) is well adopted by the farmers. In MIS, field is different use aspects are presented in Table 5.
irrigated in the close vicinity of root zone of crop. It
reduces water loss occurring through evaporation, Crop-wise water saving over surface irrigation method
conveyance and distribution. Therefore high water use and increase in yield is presented in table (Table 6).
efficiency can be achieved (Table 3). The unirrigated
rainfed cropped area, could be irrigated with the water Changes in Cropping Pattern and Cropping
saved with this technology become a potential source Intensity
of food production for the benefit of country's food
security. Before the inception of the irrigation facility, farmers
were largely dependent on rainfed farming (Aakashi
MIS is the best available way to utilize water and Kheti) and were taking only one crop in a year. Farmers
fertilizer efficiently under farm conditions. The type of were growing only local varieties of rain-fed crops like
MIS may very with the type of crop selected and rice, groundnut, jowar and cotton. With the residual
amount of water available for irrigation (Table 4). moisture some of them were taking pulses in the rabi
Since MIS is a well planned and scientifically designed season. After the introduction of the different irrigation
way of farming, it also provides option for Crop schemes, there has been a marked shift in the cropping
diversification. Unlike surface irrigation, drip pattern as well as the cropping intensity in the area.
irrigation is more suitable and economical if it is They started taking upto three crops in a year and this
introduced in water scarce areas having undulated has largely been made possible due to the increased
topography, shallow and sandy soils barren and for availability of water in the non-monsoon months. With
wide spaced high value crops. It reduces cost of the arrival of irrigation, farmers initially went for
cultivation, increases productivity and reduces energy improved varieties cash or commercial crops. Their
(electricity) consumption.
Table 3 Irrigation efficiency under different methods of irrigation
way of farming changed largely. However within the lift irrigation, farmers started growing vegetables,
subsequent 3-4 years, most farmers shifted to most particularly a variety of French beans (locally called
economic crop based on their local experience and papadi) which is a delicacy for Gujaratis. The assured
market demand, for instance in South Gujarat, farmers irrigation has helped in increasing farmers income to a
adopted Sugarcane cultivation due to support of deep great extent that is upto 4 times. All this impacted on
extension work and credit support by the sugar the life style of farmer, food intake, nutrition pattern
cooperatives. In Bharuch district, after introduction of and social status of farmers.
Promotion of adoption of Micro Irrigation System Efforts should be made to ensure the production
l
in India and supply of good quality MIS components to
the farmers by enforcing strict quality control
Technological
l intervention is required to cut measures and the manufacturers should also
down the cost of Micro-irrigation system. guide the farmers in adopting suitable
agronomic practices.
MIS
l should be made an integral part of all
irrigation projects and common efforts taken by After sales service should be strengthen.
l
the Government / NGO and the MIS companies.
Table 4 District wise details of Irrigation potentials and storages planned and created
Table 5 Operational and maintenance cost for irrigation management system in Maharashtra
Water Policy, State Water Policy. WUAs have freedom of cropping pattern.
l
PHAD Irrigation System on North-Western, of the PHAD and the distance of water travelled from
Vidarba & Kandesh Region of Maharastra the site selected for the diversion of water through the
weir. The reason for the variation of size and length of
The PHAD irrigation system is the traditional
the canal was to maintain the velocity of water so that
irrigation system adopted by the community of farmers
the water could flow at its own gravity till it reached the
in parts of Maharashtra since olden times. The actual
main command area or the THAL.
age of the PHAD irrigation system is disputed. While it
is conjectured by many eminent researchers that The term PHAD here refers to the block of land used
PHAD irrigation may be 300-400 years old, while for irrigation purposes while BANDHARA refers to
some research on PHAD has mentioned Bandharas, the weir. A collection of PHADs (of 8 to 40 ha each) is
i.e. PHAD, prevalent as early as 1409 AD. The river known as a THAL, and can cover an area upto 400 ha.
Panzara in the Sahyadri range on which the PHAD A PHAD comprises of a number of fields owned by
systems were rampant has a steep gradient and flows several cultivators, and receives water from the
through rocky beds, a topographical feature conducive BANDHARA diverted through the canal, also known
to construction of diversion weirs. The monsoon rains as pat. The canal has field distributaries called
contribute to the runoff apart from the existence of a assarang, while the excess water was drained back into
significant post-monsoon flow that can keep the main stream through sandwa or the surplus weir.
substantial irrigation going in winter as well as in the The management of the PHAD system is under the
summer seasons. This provides the context for chairmanship of the Bhagayat committee (farmers /
building a series of BANDHARAs, or low water irrigators' committee) consisting of elected members
diversion weirs, between one to five metres high of from the irrigators. The number of members in the
stone and masonry, across these streams to divert committee varies from committee to committee. The
waters for agricultural use. membership is not permanent, and usually lasts for 2 to
4 years at a time, but can be changed in between
The water level in the stream is raised by the
depending upon the interest of its members.
BANDHARA to feed the off-taking canal and to pass
the excess supply to downstream over the top of the Hereditary positions like hawaldar (supervisor) and
BANDHARA crest as overflow to the downstream. In jakleya (watchman) are involved in maintaining the
the PHAD system, the supply to the canal(s) is canal system. Patkaris (waterman) oversee the water
regulated by a head regulator. The canals vary in length distribution process by operating the field gates (sasar)
from a few hundred metres to seven kilometers. and the jerai mali community, and some other
BANDHARAs are constructed in a series to along the communities, are involved in the construction. People
river to store water for feeding to canals of PHAD used to contribute towards the construction of the
system. The availability of a command area at each structure and these watermen used to get paid by these
BANDHARA site, is also kept in mind. means.
The process of selecting the site for building the Elaborate rules for irrigation exist wherein water is
structure is carried out taking into consideration the supplied to the second PHAD only after supplying
base gradient of the river and the slope of the command adequate water to the first PHAD. There were no
area. Scouring sluices are provided at different places written rules in place and decisions were made on the
as per the length of the canal. This works as an basis of experience. Water meetings are held at the
automated cleaning device for the drainage of sand and village level where the cropping pattern was decided
silt. The average water discharge from the canal is 7-10 based on previous years' patterns. The process of
cusecs. The head of the canal has no provision of a gate; mobilizing the village farmers for the meeting is
the saucer and the scouring sluices present between the normally done through a key person of the village, who
diversion weir and the head of the canal regulates the is often called a Kotwal.
water flow. The length and size of the canals varies
Numerous such PHAD systems exist in Vidharbha
amongst the BANDHARAs depending upon the size
today and are in use. Some have been repaired and
Figure 1 Map Showing Location of Bandharas Built for PHAD Irrigation System in Maharashtra
Figure 3 Bandhara for Water Diversion in PHAD System Revival of PHAD Irrigation in Yavatmal District in
Vidharbha
Among various regions of Maharashtra, a survey was
undertaken on the revival of 'PHAD irrigation' in
Yavatmal district, which was initiated by the 'Dhangar'
community from Sakri Taluka of Dhule district.
The 'Dhangars', classified as nomadic tribes in
Figure 4 A Traditional Bandhara In Maharashtra to Store Maharashtra, came from Sakri taluka in Dhule district
Water for PHAD and settled in Dhangarwadi village in Yavatmal
district. They continued to practice rainfed agriculture
for decades. In the 90's, one of the young progressive
'Dhangar' farmer decided to tap the leakages from the
adjoining percolation tank and irrigate the field. The
percolation tank which was adjoining to the village
was earthen dam and the leakages from the walls took
the form of a stream which flowed round the year but
Figure 5 A Farmer Operating the Outlet of PHAD System
was never utilized. This progressive farmer in his
(image Courtesy: Dilasa) childhood had seen how farmers in Sakri Taluka used
to construct BANDHARAs across Panzara river and
practiced 'PHAD irrigation'. He along with his father
and five brothers decided to create an earthen bund
across the stream and construct earthen channel along
the contours to irrigate their patch of land. The entire
activity was completed within a period of 11 days. In
due course of time a 700 meter long earthen channel
Figure 6 Field Channel in PHAD System to Carry Water was constructed and they started irrigating their patch
of land. This was in 1998. Within Dhangarwadi they
had largest landholding and they were the first to
practice irrigated agriculture. Cotton and Wheat were
cultivated from the 'PHAD irrigation' system. Till
2001, the entire endeavour was restricted to one family
but gradually this progressive farmer household also
started conveying water to adjoining fields to other
Dhangar farmers. This resulted in some sort of group
Figure 7 Water Diversion Channel At Bandhara In PHAD formation and around 15 hectares of land were being
System irrigated from the PHAD channel.
Around 92% respondents reported wheat cultivation in system of providing credits markets in exchange of
Rabi and 23% reported Onion cultivation. The cost of young idle male labour. Thus in some form the labour
cultivation and gross surplus as surveyed is shown in markets are interlocked with credit through this
Table 4. practice. Such practices were prevalent among rich
Dhangar farmers who would lend money to their poor
Credit Scenario in the PHAD Command
counterparts in exchange of idle male labour, as a part
Recent literature on agrarian distress has identified of patronizing their mates to start of new ventures.
credit as one of the major source of deficiency. The
Is revival of PHAD economically sensible policy
study wanted to trace out how with advent of PHAD
decision?
irrigation, which is a community resource generation
the credit pattern has been affected. Also this becomes The above indicators lead to a very important question
important when it is taken into account that access to at the policy level. Will revival of 'PHAD', which is an
cheap credit is important to practice profitable example of concerted effort of community, remain as
agriculture. Thus indirectly the access to credit would an isolated case or can such efforts be promoted across
have implications on the sustainable and profitable the district and across the state? The answer partly lies
utilization of the created community resource like an in the economics of the revival of the PHAD. It thus
irrigation system. During the course of the study it was becomes important to see whether the revival of
found that around one third of the respondents depend PHAD can be an economically meaningful policy
on informal credit source (moneylender) as dominant decision. During the course of the study, the research
source of credit. Around 59% reported formal credit team computed the Gross surplus generated from
source like banks as their source of credit. Strangely in various agricultural operation over the PHAD
the control villages the situation was quite contrasting command area for an entire agriculture season. The
with as high as 77% of the respondents reporting term Gross Surplus was used because the calculations
formal credit source like Banks as dominant source of did not consider the rental value of land either paid or
credit while only 9% reported to take credit from received in case the land has been leased in or leased
moneylenders.(Refer Table 5) The authors' could not out and also the interest on outstanding or fresh credits.
interpret the results. According to the computation the Gross Surplus
across the entire command came around Rs 6.74 lakhs
Another interesting thing pertaining to credit was
for the last agriculture season 2007-2008 (Refer
credit from relatives. Out of the 33% credit from
Table 6).
money lenders in Dhangarwadi, 'PHAD' command as
above, major part of around 32% respondents, mostly The study also looked at the cost side of the venture and
Dhangars, had reported credit from relatives. The computed the total cost of revival of the PHAD using
Dhangars have a strong sense of community feeling opportunity cost approach. For this the research team
and they also follow a system of saalaana, which is a sat with the project team of 'DILASA' and computed
both the material cost required for PHAD revival and
Table 4 : Rabi Cultivation Status over PHAD Command
the cost incurred by the community both in the form of based institutions, the system cannot be maintained or
voluntary labour (shramdaan) and their participation in managed. Some of the farmers argued that some
terms of time spent in meetings, discussions and informal meetings do take place before the start of the
planning during the revival phase. It was found that the agriculture season where the farmers communicate
total cost of revival of such a system which actually their crops patterns and based on it the water is released
irrigated 59 hectares came to around Rs 6.10 lakhs, and the distribution takes place. But the same was not
which is around Rs 10340 Rs/hectare. Combining the echoed by the majority of the farmers. It was also
cost side and the revenue side in the form of Gross observed that most of the cultivators over PHAD
Surplus it was found that the venture of reviving the command were not owner cultivators but seasonal
PHAD system seems to break even at the end of first lease holders. Hence, institutionalizing a strong
year itself. Thus revival of PHAD also seems to be community based management system over the
economically sensible. command becomes both operationally difficult but at
the same more important. The observations are quite
Governance Over PHAD Irrigation – the Issue of
contrary, when we look into the contemporary
Sustainability
literatures on traditional irrigation systems. The
The changes observed were for better and seem to have contemporary literatures have given detailed account
a positive thrust towards livelihood improvement of of the management of the PHAD systems in Dhule
the nomadic Dhangar community. It becomes district. They have mentioned how different actors like
important to question whether the observed the canal inspectors, water guards , the Water User
exuberance observed over the PHAD command is just Associations played a role in maintenance of the
a phenomenon that runs for the project period like irrigation channels and more importantly the
many other decentralization programmes (or) is this distribution of irrigation water among the command
development sustainable and can carry forward on its area farmers. The traditional irrigation systems
own by the community members beyond the project literature has identified the locale management system
period ?. The questions move beyond the domain of as the unique proposition of most such systems and
technology and agriculture economics and moves into noted that “the traditional management systems have
the domain of institutions and governance as observed developed and were perfected over centuries and more
over the PHAD command. During the course of the likely to be complex and very efficient”.
fieldwork the researchers could not see a strong
The contemporary literature/records on PHAD
community based governance system over the PHAD
irrigation system show how homogenous cropping
command. There were 2-3 enterprising farmers, one
pattern evolved over the irrigation system and the
among them being the proponent of PHAD in the
homogeneity implied easier and effective management
village who seem to show some interest in the
and facilitates collective action among the farmers.
management of the PHAD. But, there was no
The PHAD Irrigation system had shown that how the
systematic way of community based irrigation
WUAs (Water User Associations) decided upon the
management system being institutionalized over the
crop rotation and crop choice across the PHADs and
PHAD. The institutional organizers like 'DILASA'
across seasons that were means for better water
have promoted a WUA, but the institution needs lots of
utilization and equitable water distribution. The
strengthening.
phenomenon where the land is fragmented and each
The 2-3 farmers who also happened to have large command area farmers have some land in head, middle
landholdings over the command (and one of them and tail reaches of the command ensuring that the
being the same farmer who started PHAD irrigation in WUA have some incentive for ensuring that water
the village) had some interest of developing a strong reaches to all the parts of the command. While
community based management system over the PHAD collating the observations from the command area of
command. According to them, in the first agriculture PHAD irrigation under the context of the traditional
season there were no conflicts and the distribution of irrigation literature, following inferences can be made:
water took place with mutual understanding. While the
The
l observed exuberance in terms of improved
researchers argued that in absence of any community
agriculture that is currently noted over the PHAD
Introduction
In the North – West part of the Maharashtra State, there
are number of small scale irrigation schemes in the
TAPI basin. These are run-off-the river schemes
managed by the community and are popularly known
as PHAD SYSTEMS. The irrigation system consists
of small diversion weir (called Bandhara) across a
river and irrigation channel commanding some area
mainly from one village. These schemes are prevelent
in Nashik and Dhule Districts of the state mainly on
Phanzara, Mosam, Aram and Girna rivers since the
past three/ four centuries. These rivers originate in the
Sahyadri ranges, receive runoff from the monsoon
rains (June – September) and finally contribute the
runoff in the Tapi river. A series of bandharas were built
on these rivers and their tributaries to divert the water
for agriculture use. In the past, these rivers were
flowing with considerable post – monsoon flow which
could sustain sizeable irrigation in the Rabi and
Summer seasons.( Figure 1).
The command area of individual bandhara varies from
8 ha. to 480 ha. (WALMI, 1987). No. clear records are
available to show when and by whom these bandharas
were built. However, some of the old records available
with the present baneficiaries indicates that they were
built either in late 17th century or early 18th century Figure 1 Series of Bandharas on Panzara river
(Patil, 1981). At present the PHAD System in its
original from is operative on limited bandharas in the Following are the Technical Aspects of the Main
upper reaches of these rivers and the same is almost System, (WALMI,1987):
non- existant in the lower reaches because of
inadequate post monsoon flow due to construction of All bandharas
l are masonary bandharas, with
storage reservoirs in upper reaches by Water height above river bed ranging from 2 m. to 10 m.
Resources Department and large scale ground water The
l bandharas are constructed on solid rock
pumping in the valley. The physical, cropping, social foundation.
and organization aspects of PHAD System are almost
similar in all the cases with slight local variations. The Most of the bandharas are located where the river
l
system in general prevalent in the region is explained takes a turn. Such a location facilities the
in this paper. diversion of water in the channel. When
bandharas are located in a straight reach due to
Main System
the availability of good foundation, they are
The Main system of Irrigation consist of following given horse-shoe-shape and channels are taken
components (Figure 2), off from both the sides of the river.(Figure 3)
Horse shoe type construction facilities diversion
Bandhara (diversion weir)
l
of the river flow towards both the flanks.
Main channel
l
The capacity
l of the main channel ranges from
Command area divided into parts (blocks) called
l 0.03 cumec to 1 cumec depending upon the
PHADS served by branch channels. command to be served.
Land leveling,
v
Controlled
v application of water by adopting
proper irrigation layouts.
Rotation of perennial and seasonal crops.
v
Minimum
v wastage/ misuse of water due to
Figure 5 Land Levelling in the Command of PHADs Figure 6 Rotation of Crops in PHADs
The small scale irrigation systems managed by the 2. Kulkarni D.N. and Patil R.K., 1984, Water
Management Through Farmers Organisations PHAD
community called PHAD System of irrigation in Nasik System – A Case Study, Twelth Congress, Irrigation
and Dhule Districts of the Maharashtra State are and Drainage ,Fort Collins USA. Transactions Vol.1
functioning since last 300-400 years. Management by (A). PP 1-23.
the beneficiaries themselves, no involvement of the
3. Patil R.K.1981, Group Management of Irrigation
Government in management, appointment of the Water Distribution, WAMANA, Vol.1 No.4, October
irrigation staff by the committee and payment in kind, 81, PP. 14 -20.
participatory maintenance, fixed water charges on area
4. WALMI, 1987, Operation and Management of
basis coupled with land revenue, crop planning as per Irrigation System in Maharashtra State, Water and
the availability of water, rotation of crops etc. are the Land Management Institute. Aurangabad 431 005,
main characteristics of these systems. It is interesting Publication No. 20. PP. 65-74
Patal
l water: Groundwater extracted through
wells and tubewells
Rajani/Rejani
l water: Potatable water between
transition zone of ground and surface water
Khadin
Khadin is a unique practice of water harvesting, Plate-1: Khadin
Figure 6 A typical Saaza Kua (Courtesy plot with low porosity and a depression should be
www.rainwaterharvesting.org) present in order to store water from where water can be
uplifted and irrigation can be done.
Khadin (Figure 9) is a constructed storage structure by
harvesting surface runoff. They are basically used in
hyper-arid areas of Rajasthan. A 100-300 m long
earthen embankment on lower hill slopes to store
water over the rocky surfaces adjacent to the
embankments. In order to release the excess of the
Figure 7 A typical Johad (Courtesy water, a spillway or sluices are provided to guide this
http://alainjoly1.pagesperso-orange.fr/ecologie03.htm) excess water towards cultivated lands. A khadin farm
is develop over the rainfall probability, available
storage but also recharge and increases water table. In
catchment area and available water yield. Cultivation
1984, after revival of 3000 Johads in Alwar, water table
on khadin farm is done in such a way that crop is first
raised by 6 m and forest cover increased by 33% (Ref.
put over the land where moisture is more and then is
www.rainwaterharvesting.org).
put accordingly as the amount of moisture recedes.
Naada/ Bandha are small stone check dam used to store Khadin also acts as groundwater recharging source
water in Mewar region of Thar Desert. A typical cross- and percolated water is utilized by excavating wells.
section of Bandha is given in Figure 8. Not only it
Conclusions
helps stored water to percolate into ground and rise
water table but also silt being deposited make the land It can be concluded that utilization of any method of
fertile. irrigation is function of availability of water, type of
terrain, rainfall and material of construction. All the
Nadis are village ponds basically found near Jodhpur
traditional methods in the Thar area are basically based
in Rajasthan. From the availability of nearby
on storage of water and then utilizing it further. These
catchment area, the location of a Nadi decided. From a
methods are still utilized in the villages but are on the
depth of 1.5 to 4 m and width of 3 to 12 m Nadi is
verge of extinction after the construction of Indira
formed in an area where sand dunes act as natural
Gandhi Canal. In the areas where water from canal is
barrier and create storage of water.
not accessible, these methods are still used. As it can be
Tobas is the name given to a local depression in any observed that by storing water not only we are saving
catchment area. In order to select any site for to get wasted in form of runoff but also helping ground
construction of tobas, land should be a natural hard water to get recharged when stagnant water percolates
down. Thus, in order to prevent our traditional
methods of irrigation and utilize them in multi-tasking
they must be utilized but with some modern
corrections.
References
1. Budget report of Ministry of Agriculture, Government
of India, FYI 2013-14.
2. www.amusingplanet.com
3. www.rainwaterharvesting.org
4. Google Images
5. Wikipedia
6. Water Management Forum
Figure 8 A layout of a bandha (Courtesy 7. http://alainjoly1.pagesperso-
www.rainwaterharvesting.org) orange.fr/ecologie03.htm
Figure 8 Baoris
There were however exceptions like the famous Government of Andhra Pradesh is planning to develop
British army engineer like Sir Arthur Cotton who took its water resources by improving and reorganizing the
keen interest in developing the Godavari delta system cascading system of tanks in the state.
in Andhra Pradesh by constructing the Godavari
According to an invocation in Atharva veda,
Anicut and the canal system. He is deified and
worshipped even till today by the grateful farming May water from wells give us Prosperity!
community of the area.
May stored surface water give us Prosperity!
Conclusion
May direct rainwater give us Prosperity!
Irrigated agriculture in India is indeed a glorious
culture acquired from the ancient times, to be References
preserved and promoted by the present custodians and 1) Background Paper on Irrigation : The Andhra Pradesh
passed on to the future generations in a sustainable Study (Consultancy Report of ESCI (1996) for the
state up development. World Bank.
The present trends in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in 2) Andhra Pradesh Water Sector Improvement Project :
Project Implementation Plan – Vol. I (Sept., 2009).
carrying forward the traditional systems of irrigation
are encouraging. The Government of Telangana has 3) MoWR, GoI, Note on History of Irrigation
taken up the Mission Kakatiya for restoring and Development
renovating the tank systems in a big way and the 4) Gradual Development of Irrigation in India
Introduction
Irrigation
Water that is required to be supplied at the head of a
channel that is conveying water to more than one field.
Infact, water supply to such a cluster of fields with
perhaps many sowing different crops is what is termed
as an “Irrigation scheme”. In this part , it is emphasized
about the ways in which various water sources may be
utilized to meet the demand of irrigation or the gross
irrigation requirement.
Telangana region accounts for huge chunk of natural
resources of the current Andhra Pradesh. For instance,
the 10 districts in this region account for 45 % of
Andhra's forest cover. The region comprises 68 % of
the catchment area of the Krishna river and 79 % Figure 1 Irrigation systems in Telengana
catchment area of Godavari river. There is no problem
with water resources in Telangana. sustainable way. Towards this endeavour, efforts are
afoot to Socio Economic Outlook 2015 110 expedite
Irrigation contributes immensely to the Agriculture the ongoing and proposed major and medium
sector and thereby to the Socio-Economic irrigation projects. This will allow rightful utilization
development of the State. Irrigation in Telangana is of total allocation of water to Telangana. The planned
mostly dependent on the utilization of water from utilization in Godavari & Krishna River is 933.70
Godavari and Krishna rivers and tributaries, tanks and TMC and 298 TMC respectively including
ponds. There are about 46,000 water conservation floodwaters in Krishna Basin.
structures varying from very large tanks to small ponds
including percolation tanks. These water conservation Irrigation system under the Kakatiyas, who developed
structures together are the leading source for meeting excellent irrigation technology, harnessing every drop
irrigation, commercial and other domestic needs. of rainwater, offers a very good model to revive
Below Figure 1 shows the river water source for sustainable drought-proofing measures. Apart from
Irrigation in Telangana State. the four major tanks – Pakhal, Ramappa,
Lakhnavaram and Ghanpur with a yield of 5,872 mcft
The State Government realises the importance of covering an ayacut of 11,975 ha, there are 5,000 other
irrigation and is striving hard to harness the water of lakes with a storage capacity of 100 mcft each.
both the rivers for development of the State in a Repairs, renovation and restoration of minor irrigation
Abstract
At present, as there is a demand in electricity generation, this impact result in the scarcity of water generation for
irrigation purpose to the agricultural farmers, which affect the rural development. In India 25% of electricity is
consumed by irrigation pumps. In our project, we generating power using renewable energy which will be
available throughout the year. A wind generation takes place by wind turbines, which supplies power to the
reciprocating pump, which is used to drive water from ground and it can be stored in a tank. Then it can be
supplied to the field based on the requirement of water for the crops.
Keywords: Rural development, Wind turbine, Gear box, Reciprocating pump, Wind intensity
Introduction
Pudukkottai region is the underdeveloped area (Figure
1). Scarcity of water is high. Also annual rainfall rate is
minimum. So the majority of irrigation pumping in
Pudukkottai uses electricity.
An increasing demand of electricity results in poor
supply of electricity for rural areas. So the renewable
source of energy comes under discussion which is
wind energy.
Our main aim is to apply the concepts of wind energy
usage for Pudukkottai Region and to suggest whether
this type of system can be replaced.
In this research, we are generating power using
renewable energy which will be available throughout
the year. We are getting sustainable energy from wind
which produces minimum amount of energy. A wind
generation takes place by wind turbines which supplies
power to the reciprocating pump, which is used to
drive water from ground and to store in a tank. Figure 1 Pudukkottai District Map
Working of Wind Powered Pump
Compressed air pumping systems (Figure 3) are now
Windmills can be used to pump water and generate the most commonly used because of their low cost.
electricity. There are two types of wind powered water This type of wind mill pump compresses air which in
pumps. turn, activates a pump located in the water. Water
The traditional reciprocating pump has the wind mill enters the pump until the floating valve rises to close
situated directly over the water source (Figure 2). It the inlet opening, at which time the compressed air
offers the best pumping capacities using gear box and displaces water out of the pump and up to the trough.
reciprocating pump, but requires periodic maintenance The air exhausted aerates the water source so that good
and part replacement. water quality is maintained.
Wind Resources ü
The system is fully based on renewable energy
which is always available without any
The amount of water a wind- powered water pumping limitations.
system can deliver, depends on the speed and ü
Technological improvement in system and a
duration of the wind, the size and efficiency of the new designed wind turbine makes system more
rotor, the efficiency of the pump being used, and how efficient.
far the water has to be lifted. The power delivered by a
windmill can be determined from the following ü
Adopting windenergy means for water
equation: pumping has resulted in huge benefits.
ü
Most commercially available windmills
P = 0.0109(D**2) (V**3) n
operate best in a range of the wind speed
Where P is power in W, D is the rotor diameter, m, V is between about 15km/hr. and 50km/hr.
the wind speed, km/ hr, and h is the efficiency of the ü
Pudukkottai region is located in the shore of
wind turbine. As can be seen from this expression, Bay of Bengal, but wind energy available i.e.
relatively large increases in power result from the average wind intensity is 14.53km/hr.
comparatively small increases in the size of the rotor
ü
Hence it may be preferable to install water
and the available wind speed; doubling the size of the
pumping system near the coastal lines of
rotor will result in a four- old increase in power, while Pudukkottai region because the required wind
doubling the wind speed will result in an eight – fold energy is available only in that line.
increase in power.
Introduction
The development of civilization in India was based on
growth of agriculture. The irrigation systems have
helped for growth of agriculture. The traditional
irrigation practices in India are as furnished below.
Rainfed Cultivation
This is the oldest method of irrigation practiced in
India . The agriculture is done utilizing the rainfall in
the area. Dry crops like jawar, bajra, castor, cotton,
pulses, cereals. oilseeds etc are grown purely
depending on the rainfall (Figure 1). In forest / agency
areas, where there is rainfall throughout the year, wet Figure 2 Flood irrigation system
crops like paddy (rice), wheat, sugarcane etc are
grown. In fact it is still the largest method of Inundation (Flood) Irrigation
cultivation prevailing in India. About 60% of total net Another form of direct irrigation is the inundation
sown area is under rainfed crops only. irrigation which is also called as river-canal irrigation.
Direct Irrigation In this type there will be no structure across the river.
An Inundation canal directly taking off from the river
This is the second oldest method of irrigation practiced will convey the water to the irrigation fields. whenever
in India. In this method the flood water flowing the water is available in the river (Figure 2).
through the streams/rivers is diverted by constructing a
small obstruction across the stream, called As the water is directly applied to the fields without
anicuts/barrages etc and the river water is diverted to any storage / regulation , it is called as direct irrigation.
the adjoining fields through canals. These direct
Indirect (Storage) Irrigation
irrigation structures are constructed across streams/
rivers having perennial flows, These anicuts/ barrages In this method bigger structures called Dams,
have low storage capacity as there will be continuous Reservoirs are constructed across the rivers to store
flows in the river, and they will be low in height to pass flood water flowing in rainy season and to supply it to
away the excess flood waters over them. the fields through canals as and when required.
As the water supply is controlled, regulated it is called
indirect irrigation (Figure 3).
Lift irrigation Systems
In this method the water available at lower levels in
streams, rivers, ponds, wells etc is lifted through
manually, bullocks, oil engines, electrical pumps and
delivered to the agricultural fields located at higher
levels. The fallowing are the various types of Lift
Irrigation systems practiced in India since ages.
Yatham System
Water is lifted from nalas, sreams flowing at lower
Figure 1 Jowar rainfed crop levels by tying a bucket to a vertical pole. It is operated
A closer scrutiny of the surplus data reveals that dia concrete pipes for 25.90km length and
generally Pillur Dam surplus occurs only in the month feeding 3 tanks & 94 Ponds in between with a
drawal capacity of 15 cusecs by gravity flow.
of June, July, August & September of the year and
mostly in June and July only. It is therefore decided to OT line
l 3 – branching to Perundurai with
have open storage capacity reservoir for 1.20 TMC 1x1600mm dia concrete pipes with 125 cusecs
All the
l pipelines are proposed to be taken along
side of the existing State Highways, Major
district roads & also village roads to totally avoid
land acquisition from farmers and also expedite
the execution of the project.
Closed
l RC concrete pipes (non-pressure type
NP2) are chosen to supply the required water to
all the tanks and ponds including the tail ended
ones without evaporation loss, seepage, theft of
water by illegal pumping and also preventing the
front ones to draw more water denying the same
to tail ends and also with cost effectiveness.
Figures 2 & 3 show the water recharge system in etc) can be advantageously adopted for soil
Tamilnadu. stabilisation and for sub base to avoid much
settlement.
Conclusions
Acknowledgement
From the above detailed study, the following The author expresses sincere thanks to Prof M
inferences can be easily drawn. Lakshmipathy, Structural Engineering, SRM
Bulk
l water supply/drawal can be accomplished University, Mr D A Natarajan, Former Civil Engineer,
by laying large dia RC concrete pipes (NP2) TNEB, Mr N Mathiyaraan, Assistant Engineer,
without loss due to evaporation, seepage, theft of Highways, Mr N Kailasapathy, Senior Consultant and
water by illegal pumping besides avoiding major Mr B Arunkumar, Design Engineer for their well-
pollution en-route. merited guidance and assistance in the preparation of
this project proposal.
These
l RC pipelines can be easily and
conveniently taken along the road sides of References
National, State Highways and district roads with 1. Mr A. Mohanakrishnan's Expert Committee Report –
little land acquition. 2009 PWD, Govt. Of Tamilnadu.
Bund
l of the open reservoir can be formed with 2. Detailed Project Report on Avinashi - Athikadavu
RE wall Technology using concrete sealant or Flood Flow Canal Scheme, PP&D Division, Erode,
micro concrete for water tightness in the WRO, PWD,. Govt. of Tamilandu – (2011-12).
Upstream side with quality and cost 3. IRC Spl. Publication No.102-2014 – Guidelines for
effectiveness. Design and Construction of Reinforced Soil Walls –
IRC 2014.
Distribution
l of water to branch lines can be
accurately effected using metal V notches at 4. Literature on RE wall for Retaining wall – Z-TECH
CQC Manual for Reinforced Soil Walls with
cross points, avoiding large cross masonry
CONCRETE Panel FACING.
works.
5. TWAD Board Schedule of Rates 2014-15.
The Geosynthetics
l (Geogrids, Geotex, Geonets
Introduction
India is basically, an agricultural country with more
than 65 % of the population depending on agriculture
for their livelihood. Eventhough India has to support
16% of world's population with just 4% of world's
fresh water, it is generally known as a country with
adequate water resources because the traditional
irrigation techniques followed by India over the time
was good enough to feed its large population
sufficiently. There is a wide variation in the spatial
distribution of Ranifall in India which is very high in
the Gangetic plain. Western ghats and Eastern hilly
region, very poor in Rajasthan and moderate in other
regions.
Our ancestors being people of very high wisdom
followed different irrigation techniques to suite the
conditions in different river basins and areas.
Traditional Irrigation in Tamilnadu
From time immemorial Tamilnadu had been ruled by
three ancient dynasties of Tamils, the Chera the Chola
and the Pandiya followed by Pallava. The Kings of
these dynasties developed and followed different
Irrigation methods in their frontiers which we inherited
along with the systems and infrastructure. The
techniques shaped by them are being followed in most
of the places even today with slight refinement Figure 1 River basins in Tamilnadu
wherever needed.
irrigation in Tamilnadu. The water released for
Tamilnadu has 17 River Basins, each with its own irrigation at Mettur Dam passes through a hydro
characteristics. A map showing the 17 River basins is electric power house at the foot of the Dam and the
given below, and a few of them which are of special tailrace water flows back into Cauvery River.
significance are discussed in Figure 1.
Traditional Irrigation in Cauvery Delta
Cauvery Basin and Cauvery Delta
The total area irrigated in Cauvery Basin is 45.29 Lac
Cauvery is one of the 12 major Rivers of India, and the Acres of which 24.71 Lac Acres lie in Tamilnadu
only major River in Tamilnadu. It is an interstate river (including 12.50 Lac Acres lying in Cauvery Delta).
starting in Western ghats in Karnataka state, flowing Cauvery Delta is one of the most fertile deltas in the
for a length of 800 KM and falling into Bay of Bengal world, very well formed by nature and excemplarily
across Tamilnadu coastal line, near Poompuhar. developed by sustained human efforts. The Delta has
Cauvery runs for 380 KM in Karnataka and 356 KM in an extensive distribution network consisting of 36
Tamilnadu and 64 KM in the common boundary branch rivers of 1598 KM total length 1505 main
Mettur Dam with Stanely Reservoir of 93 TMC channels of 5522km total length and 28376 Branch
Capacity with maximum depth of 120 was constructed channels of 18302 KM total length, with necessary
across Cauvery in the year for 1934 storing water for infrastructure like Regulators, Notches, Bed dams,
Dumping
l of rough stones on the upstream and
downstream sides of Anicut for its entire length
which act as aprons of the modern structures.
Kallanai when it was formed (and even now)
discharged the flood flow into Coleroon the only flood
carrier of the River Basin during heavy floods thus
saving the Delta from flood devastation; and diverted
water to the Delta to save crops. Thus Kallanai has
been responsible for protecting and nourishing the
Delta and preserving it as what it its today.
That such a wonderful structure was constructed two
thousand years back, stands testimony to the richest
tradition reached in Irrigation in Tamilnadu, long, long
ago.
It will be relevant here to make a mention of the
comments made by General Arthur Cotton who is
acclaimed as 'Father of Irrigation in South India' when
Figure 2 Grand Anicut complex
D. Tertiary Treatment
Pressure sand filter
The water is allowed to flow through the pressure sand
filter media to remove any additional particles.
Pressure filters are typically used with hot process
softeners to permit high-temperature operation and to
prevent heat loss. The use of pressure filters eliminates
the need for repumping of filtered water. Pressure Figure 4 Activated carbon filter media
filters are similar to gravity filters in that they include
filter media, supporting bed, under drain system and It is also used in a number of other applications,
control device; however, the filter shell has no wash including respirator masks, the purification of
water troughs (Figure 3). sugarcane and in the recovery of precious metals,
especially gold. It is also used in cigarette filters
(Figure 5).
B. Drip Irrigation
This is an irrigation method which minimizes water by
allowing water to drip slowly and directly to the base of
the plants through a network of pipes, tubes valves and
emitters. Drip Irrigation system is sometimes called
trickle irrigation and involves dripping water onto the Figure 7 Drip irrigation method
[Source: http://agritech.tnau.ac.in/agriculture/agri_resourcemgt_water_irrigationsourceoftn.html]
evenly through lined and more so unlined channels Chola King, later refurbished by the Britishers.
(Table 2 ). Though some small amount of water was lost in
Nowadays, drip irrigation is also practised. flooding, the regulatory mechanisms were acting
efficiently. There were places like 'Tirunelveli' and
Environmentalists advocate the replenishment of the 'Nanjil Nadu' where existed paddy fields aplenty, with
ground water by storage of water in lakes and ponds. furrows/bunds.
Also, fish farming is increasing which is causing
salination of the land. This makes the land to go fallow. Conclusion
The need of the hour is to use traditional crops which There was an integrated farming cum irrigation pattern
are disease resistant and preservation of numerous in synchrony with crop rotation and weather changes.
species, so that the eco system is much preserved. System Tanks and Non-system tanks which fed the
crops through canals were existent in the state of
A cess was levied for water and this was utilised for the Tamilnadu. Ponding for Orchards were also in
building of traditional irrigation systems by the ancient existence.Currently well irrigation is the major type of
Tamils. Thanjavur belt is traditionally known as the irrigation.
granary of South India. There is also a saying that '
Chola Nadu Chorudaithu ' meaning the Chola Nadu References
abounds in food. And to mill/ pound the threshes of
1. http://agritech.tnau.ac.in/agriculture/agri_resourcemgt_
paddy, elephants were used instead of bullocks. water_irrigationsourceoftn.html
Sluices were known as Madhagu. The Kallanai is a 2. Season and Crop Report of Tamilnadu 2009 – 2010
live indication of the expertise of King Karikala, the
Making
z 'Dol' for drains requires more labour
information.
Due to
z filling of excess water, there is risk of
Figure 1 Check basin method underground salts coming up to the surface
layer.
Following are disadvantages of check basin method: (iii) Strip Irrigation Method
Due to
z seepage in drains, wastage of water is In strip irrigation method, fields are divided into strips
caused. of different size. A boundary called 'Med' is formed to
Machines cannot be used m this method because
z separate the strips. These strips are constructed
during spray of insecticides or fertilizers, the according to the slope. The source of water is situated
earthen walls of basins are damaged. at the highest place in the field from where the whole
field can get the flow of water.
There
z IS imbalance in distribution of labour.
After growth of crops, water reaches the basins The width of strips is decided as per quantity of water.
in disproportionate quantity thereby causing More wastage of water is caused if strips are wider.
wastage of water. Length of strip is decided by the slope of land and its
structure. Effect of soil composition is also visible
Creation of problem of water logging.
z on it.
Introduction
Traditional systems prevalent in an area are specific
responses to the ecology and culture of the people in
that area, and are generally eco-friendly, less costly,
socially acceptable, flexible, and utilize local
resources, knowledge and labour. They are evolved
from the experiences gained and lessons learnt by the
people. Traditional irrigation systems are a part of the
traditional agriculture in Kerala, which is mainly
rainfall-dependent. Irrigation is given for partially
supplementing the water demand of crops. There are Figure 1 Well
several examples of valuable indigenous technology
continued both in the rural and urban areas of Kerala
knowledge (ITK) on irrigation management in Kerala.
both for domestic and irrigation purposes.
Many of these indigenous technologies and traditional
wisdom are dying out due to the influx of modern Keni is a type of very shallow well seen in Wayanad
technologies and changing life styles of the people. district, which are constructed in the valleys. The side
The different aspects of traditional irrigation walls of these small diameter wells are strengthened by
management in Kerala viz., water resources driving in hard, hollow, seasoned trunk of trees. The
development, water harvesting and conservation, best material used for this purpose in ancient times was
water diversion and irrigation are covered in this the rind of the basal portion of 'Choondapana' (Caryota
article. urens) and the Keni lined with this wood is called
Panamkutty Keni (Figure 2). Instead of
Development of Water Resources
'Choondapana', the rind of 'Aanjili' (Artocarpus
The spatial and temporal pattern of rainfall and the hirsutus), 'Nelli' (Emblica officinalis) etc. were also in
ephemeral nature of many of the surface water sources use. Several such kenis could be seen in different parts
in Kerala compelled the people to probe the of Wayanad district. Kenis are the important source of
groundwater sources for meeting their fresh water water for the tribal population of Wayanad. Many of
requirements for domestic and irrigation purposes. the kenis are as old as 500 to 600 years. The water in
these kenis are of good quality, eventhough many of
Wells
Most of the homesteads in Kerala have a dug well. The
art of construction of open wells in Kerala have
attained perfection over the years. The circular walls of
the wells are protected by aesthetic construction of
laterite stonewalls (Figure 1). To prevent the
differential settlement of these stonewalls and their
collapse, structures called nellipadi was generally used
in olden days. Here, stonewalls on the inner periphery
of wells are constructed on a wooden foundation made
from the timber of 'Nelli' (Emblica officinalis). In
ancient times, the laying of the nellipadi in wells was an Figure 2 Keni
important ceremony. It is believed that the gooseberry
wood aids in purification of water. But, now this them are located in marshy soils. Nowadays, concrete
practice is becoming extinct due to the dearth of rings are used to line the walls of kenis due to the
gooseberry wood. However, the 'well-culture' is being shortage of suitable wood.
Figure 10 Kalpaathi
Figure 8 Mathavu
Irrigation
Traditional irrigation methods and practices were a
part of the traditional agricultural systems in Kerala.
The traditional agriculture in Kerala was mainly
Figure 9 Panampaathy Ovu
rainfall-dependant and irrigation was given for
Plate 1 Brush wood check dam in Wayanad Plate 2 Water control structure Mathavu
Table 2 Region-wise groundwater resources availability, utilization and stage of development in India
Table 3 Zone-wise irrigation development at the end of tenth five year plan (000, ha)
Machines
l cannot be used m this method because Making
l 'Dol' for drains requires more labour
during spray of insecticides or fertilizers, the information.
earthen walls of basins are damaged.
Due
l to filling of excess water, there is risk of
There IS imbalance in distribution of labour. After
l underground salts coming up to the surface layer.
growth of crops, water reaches the basins in
Strip Irrigation Method
disproportionate quantity thereby causing
wastage of water. In strip irrigation method, fields are divided into strips
of different size. A boundary called 'Med' is formed to
Creation of problem of water logging.
l
separate the strips. These strips are constructed
Furrow Irrigation Method according to the slope. The source of water is situated
at the highest place in the field from where the whole
Furrow irrigation method is resorted to where crops are
field can get the flow of water.
one grown in rows (Figure 2). Along the side of rows
of crops, 'Dols' formed, and in between two such The width of strips is decided as per quantity of water.
'Dols', a furrow is formed in which water flows for More wastage of water is caused if strips are wider.
irrigation. The quantity of flow of water depends on Length of strip is decided by the slope of land and its
demand of water by plants and the rate of infiltration. structure. Effect of soil composition is also visible on
it.
Advantages
It is
l possible to irrigate more area at a lesser
expenditure.
It requires less labour.
l
Method
l of irrigation is easy and it causes lesser
erosion.
Disadvantages
It is not suitable for all types of crops.
l
Figure 2 Furrow irrigation method
It is not possible to get balanced supply of water.
l
It saves
l labour since once the furrow is filled, it is
not necessary to give water a second time.
It is a comparatively cheaper method.
l
Plants
l get suitable quantity of water by this
method. Figure 3 Basin Irrigation Method
l l l
l l
of three district geographic divisions- the salt tract, the farmers in planning, operation and maintenance of the
arable tract (main rice producing zone of state),sub irrigation system. Involving the farmers in this
mountainous tract(where delta meets the mountainous irrigation system is one of the remedy for addressing
tract). In hilly areas, tanks is the main source of the issues related to its management, empowering
irrigation. In plains, the chief source of irrigation is firms to take the challenges as co-operative irrigation.
flood water which let out into cultivated areas through Panchayat'- involvement of more than five persons is a
embankment sluices. Earthen dams were also brain storming decision making process of any
constructed across minor drainage channels to raise management which always gives good solution to a
the level of water to irrigate the adjacent fields. problem (Figure 4). Hence keeping this fundamental
Traditional irrigation systems like Munda, Kata, sagar objective, Govt. of Odisha started effective water
system(in western odisha) was prevalent. When it was management process through an act i.e. The Orissa
extinct, droughts occur (Table 3). Irrigation in Pani-Panchayat Act 2002. The outcome of the
Agricultural farming plays vital role. Optimum responses of members-farmers is:-
utilization of water and its proper management is the
Farmers involve in internal water distributions
l
sole aim of formation of Water User Associations
(WUAs) or Pani Panchayat. The basic aim of this Farmers fix water rates for different crops
l
association is participatory irrigation management
Farmers participate in the collection of water rates
l
(PIM), through which Govt. is aiming to associate
Farmers
l have got mobilized for participatory 2. Datas taken from Food and Agricultural Organisation
(FAO) with the website http://www.fao.org
irrigation management through training
3. United Nations publication “Sustaining water-An
Farmers understand problems related to irrigation
l update” published in 1994 regarding the increase in
service controlled by outsiders population and per capita grain consumption.
Conclusion 4. www.archiveindia.gov.in
Traditional irrigations where feasible require small 5. Report by Anchalika Jana Seva Anusthan for Koraput
investments, farmer friendly, no special technical ditrict in Odisha supported by Sir Dorabjee Trust.
Introduction
The earliest mentions of irrigation are found in
Rigveda chapters 1.55, 1.85, 1.105, 7.9, 8.69 and
10.101. The Veda mentions only well-style irrigation,
where kupa and avata wells once dug are stated to be
always full of water, from which varatra (rope strap)
and cakra (wheel) pull kosa (pails) of water. This water
was, state the Vedas, led into surmi susira (broad
channels) and from there into khanitrima (diverting
channels) into fields.
Later, the 4th-century BCE Indian scholar Pānini,
mentions tapping several rivers for irrigation. The
Figure 1 Ganges irrigation canal built during the colonial
mentioned rivers include Sindhu, Suvastu, Varnu, era, and inaugurated in 1854
Sarayu, Vipas and Chandrabhaga. Buddhist texts from
the 3rd century BCE also mention irrigation of crops.
Texts from the Maurya Empire era (3rd century BCE) end of the century the new network of canals in the
mention that the state raised revenue from charging Punjab" were in place.
farmers for irrigation services from rivers.
Much of the increase in irrigation during British
Patanjali, in Yogasutra of about the 4th century CE, colonial era was targeted at dedicated poppy and
explains a technique of yoga by comparing it to "the opium farms in India, for exports to China (Figure 1).
way a farmer diverts a stream from an irrigation canal Poppy cultivation by the British Raj required reliable,
for irrigation". In Tamil Nadu, the Grand Anicut dedicated irrigation system. Large portions of the
(canal) across the Kaveri river was implemented in the eastern and northern regions of India, namely United
3rd century CE, and the basic design is still used today. Provinces, Northwestern Provinces, Oudh, Behar,
Bengal and Rewa were irrigated to ensure reliable
Islamic Era supply of poppy and opium for China. By 1850, the
Waterworks were undertaken during the Delhi Asian opium trade created nearly 1,000 square
Sultanate and the Mughal Empire era from the 12th to kilometers of poppy farms in India in its fertile Ganges
18th centuries. However, these were primarily to plains, which increased to over 500,000 acres by 1900.
supply water to the palaces and parks of the sultans and This diversion of food crop land to cash crop use, state
other officials. scholars, led to massive famines over the 1850 to 1905
period.
Colonial Era
Major irrigation canals were built after millions of
In 1800, some 800,000 hectares was irrigated in India. people died each in a series of major famines in the
The British Raj by 1940 built significant number of 19th century in British India. In 1900, British India
canals and irrigation systems in Uttar Pradesh, (including Bangladesh and Pakistan) had about 13
Bihar,[12] Punjab, Assam and Orissa. The Ganges million ha under irrigation. By 1947, this had
Canal reached 350 miles from Haridwar to Kanpur in increased to about 22 million ha of irrigation. In
Uttar Pradesh. In Assam, a jungle in 1840, by 1900 had Northwestern British India region alone, with the
4,000,000 acres under cultivation, especially in tea colonial government's effort, 2.2 million hectares of
plantations. In all, the amount of irrigated land previously barren land was irrigated by 1940s, most of
multiplied by a factor of eight. Historian David which is now part of Pakistan. Arthur Cotton led some
Gilmour states British colonial government had built irrigation canal projects in the Deccan peninsula, and
irrigation network with Ganges canal and that, "by the landmarks are named after him in Andhra Pradesh and
Due
l to seepage in drains, wastage of water is Making
l 'Dol' for drains requires more labour
caused. information.
Machines
l cannot be used m this method because Due
l to filling of excess water, there is risk of
during spray of insecticides or fertilizers, the underground salts coming up to the surface layer.
earthen walls of basins are damaged. Strip Irrigation Method : Used areas belongs to Zone -
There
l IS imbalance in distribution of labour. 1
After growth of crops, water reaches the basins in In strip irrigation method, fields are divided into strips
disproportionate quantity thereby causing of different size. A boundary called 'Med' is formed to
wastage of water. separate the strips. These strips are constructed
Creation of problem of water logging.
l
according to the slope. The source of water is situated
at the highest place in the field from where the whole
Furrow Irrigation Method: Used areas belongs to field can get the flow of water.
Zone -2 & 3
The width of strips is decided as per quantity of water.
Furrow irrigation method is resorted to where crops are More wastage of water is caused if strips are wider.
one grown in rows (Figure 3). Along the side of rows Length of strip is decided by the slope of land and its
of crops, 'Dol' is formed, and in between two such structure. Effect of soil composition is also visible on
'Dols', a furrow is formed in which water flows for it.
It is
l possible to irrigate more area at a lesser Note
expenditure.
In Bengal, one of the traditional systems of irrigation
It requires less labour.
l had been the inundation canals, which is almost totally
abandoned today. In this method, the high flood waters
Method
l of irrigation is easy and it causes lesser
of the rivers were allowed to inundate the adjacent
erosion.
flood plains, thus bringing with it rich silt over which
This method has the following disadvantages: good amount of crops were grown after the passage of
flood. However, from the times of the British rule,
It is not suitable for all types of crops.
l
especially in the early twentieth century and even after
It is not possible to get balanced supply of water.
l independence almost all rivers were embanked,
leaving no room such traditional practice of
It is not suitable for all soil compositions.
l
agriculture. As a result, the rivers have to flow through
Basin Irrigation Method : Forest Areas of All Zones a much constricted cross-sectional area during floods,
with a corresponding rise in flood water levels. The
This irrigation method is more suited for horticulture
falling floods have also deposited the silt on the
development (Figure 4). In this method, a raised
constricted riverbed, thus raising it dangerously high at
many places. At times, the embankments breach
during floods, thus inundate the human settlements
that have unauthorizedly encroached upon behind
these embankments in the flood plains. (source:
Version 2 CE IIT, Kharagpur)
Treadle Pumps
In Bengal, treadle pumps are used by farmers in some
villages. These manually operated pumps are made out
of bamboo and cost as little as INR 200. The amount of
water extracted is similar to that extracted by hand
Figure 4 Basin Irrigation Method pumps, which means that they can be used on crops
with low water requirements and small vegetable
platform called 'Thanvla' is formed around trees or patches, but they cannot replace STWs, which are
bushes and they are connected with each other through essential for crops like boro paddy that require large
drains and the water reaches from one tree to the other. amounts of irrigation water and in places where the
This method is not suitable for crops. groundwater table has fallen below 30 feet. An
This method has the following advantages advantage of treadle pumps is that they have no direct
financial operating costs, although they require labor.
It saves time. Once the water is opened, it reaches
l
other trees automatically. References
and called surangams locally, the top the water seeping all these methods are ingenious forms of water
down the hill sides for use as drinking water (Table 1). resources engineering and a modern engineer may not
In summary, the various types of traditional water only learn from these age old techniques but also
harvesting system practiced in India may be presented suggest new ways to improve them to make these more
as given in the table below. It must be remembered that efficient.
water, %age, slope and structure of the ground etc. The Furrow Irrigation Method
Furrow irrigation method is resorted to where crops are
one grown in rows (Figure 2). Along the side of rows
of crops, 'Dol'is formed, and in between two such
'Dols', a furrow is formed in which water flows for
irrigation. The quantity of flow of water depends on
demand of water by plants and the rate of infiltration.
In different situations, different furrow methods are
used (Surajbhan 1978). They are mainly of five types:
Figure 1 Check Basin Method
1. Slopy Furrow
length of 'Dhora'is different depending on the basis of 2. Leveled Furrow
slope and formation of the fields. This method is also 3. Contour Furrow
prevalent in India as it does not cause any burden on the
farmer. 4. Serial Furrow
This method has the following advantages: 5. Corrugated Furrow
It is the
v best method of irrigation for leveled Advantages
fields. Large areas can be irrigated at a time.
v
This method
v is more useful in soils having is not necessary to give water a second time.
lesser infiltration. It is a comparatively cheaper method.
v
In strip irrigation method, fields are divided into strips Its economic investment is less.
v
of different size. A boundary called 'Med' is formed to It is beneficial for more trees.
v
separate the strips. These strips are constructed
according to the slope. The source of water is situated Disadvantages
at the highest place in the field from where the whole
field can get the flow of water.
The width of strips is decided as per quantity of water.
More wastage of water is caused if strips are wider.
Length of strip is decided by the slope of land and its
structure. Effect of soil composition is also visible on
it.
Advantages
It is possible
v to irrigate more area at a lesser
expenditure.
It requires less labour.
v
It is not
v possible to get balanced supply of Diseases spread in trees.
v
Introduction from river or water bodies and lifting the water from
deep or shallow wells to the farm. These techniques
India is agricultural based country and it contributes
depend largely on the elevation of the water surface
approximately 29% to the total GDP of India
(FAO,2001). Despite industrialization and and available equipments. These techniques can be
urbanization, agriculture still remains the major sector classified as low head water lift; medium head water
contributing to GDP and providing jobs to millions of lift and high head water lift (Michael, 2009).
the people of India. Agricultural production largely Low head water lift techniques involves swing basket,
depends on the efficient utilization of the available don, Archimedean screw and water wheels, whereas
surface and groundwater resources. Major agricultural Persian wheels, chain pump, animal drawn bucket
farming in India is dependent of the rainfall, uneven lifts, and manually operated counterpoise-bucket lifts
distribution rainfall distribution and frequent drought are the methods comes under medium head water lift.
situations causes loss to the agricultural production. Rope and bucket lift and hand-pumps are the methods
According to the report of ministry of agriculture used in case of the high head water lifts.
(MOA,1998) net rain fedarea constitute about 30%,
and net irrigated area is only 16.5%. Various minor, Above discussed methods have some limitations in the
medium and major irrigation schemes are there run by hilly area like northeastern part of India. In hilly
the Government of India for providing the water for regions main challenges are the undulating land and
agriculture. After several irrigation projects in several agricultural practices on the slope of the hills using
five year plans irrigation development in India has terraces and bunds. These conditions restrict the free
risen significantly, but still the irrigation area is not flow of water or need more coordinated path for water
evenly distributed in different states of India. to reach to the field. Another challenge in hilly region
Tamilnadu has achieved nearly 100% whereas Assam is the source of water. As compared to the plane land
has the lowest utilization of irrigation potential i.e. where river streams or canal are not very deep or high
23% (MoWR, 1996). from the agriculture fields, in hilly region water
sources may be some perennial spring or seasonal
Apart from the irrigation projects governed by spring. This makes additional challenge to divert water
governments, there are several traditional methods of from the water falling abruptly from the hills; this also
irrigation in general practices, which are used by affects the efficiency of the adopted method of
people directly for utilizing the available surface or irrigation.
groundwater resources. Rivers and wells are natural
resources of water supply but for using it for The Northeastern Indian regionconsists of eight states
agricultural purposes need techniques to divert water namely Assam, Meghalaya, Arunanchal Pradesh,
Table 1 Fortnightly average dry days and length of dry spell in A&N Islands
* In view of humid tropical climate dry day was considered when rainfall was less than 10 mm
Figure 7 Construction of (a) pond and (b) open well downstream of pond and (c) check dam and (d) well downstream of check
dam in Kaju Nallah at Garacharma farm
availability to domestic use and irrigate 7 ha water with an application efficiency of 95% or even
vegetables land through three open dug wells on the more. In addition, it reduces fertilizer use and increases
sides of stream (Figure 9). At Manjery, development crop yield. Since most of the farmers in these islands
of water resource process was unique as all the are small and marginal, the high initial cost of drip
stakeholders formed a registered water user irrigation and economy of scale in its operation makes
association and participated for creation of adoption of drip irrigation difficult for the farmers. In
infrastructure. view of topography, gravity-fed drip irrigation can be
For valley areas, the paddy fields should be properly adopted successfully which if properly designed can
bunded to store the rain water. The stored rainwater be very useful for the farmers. Design methodology for
will slowly percolate down and can be harvested back such systems has been developed and successfully
through open dug wells in downstream. One ha of demonstrated. Even for small farms of less than 0.1 ha
paddy land, if bunded properly by 22.5 cm high bunds and low head availability (< 2.0 m), low cost low-head
with provision of draining excess water, will facilitate filter has been designed. This filter costs just about
slow percolation of about 6000 m3 of water (@4 1/5th of conventional screen filter with a head loss of
mm/day for 150 days). Assuming that about 50% of the only 0.13 m compared to 1.2 m by conventional filter.
percolated water can be harvested back through Thus, the available rainfall in A&N Islands can be
downstream open dug well, which should not be harnessed for providing irrigation to plantation and
deeper than 8 m, about 3000 m3 of water will be spice crops, which will increase the productivity by at
available per ha of paddy land which will be sufficient
least 100 %. The fallow paddy land can be effectively
for providing 300 mm irrigation water in the following
used for vegetables and flower cultivation. As the
dry season crops. This will be in addition to the normal
initial investment of creation of water resource is high,
recharge received from the forested catchment on both
but in view of higher returns, these systems are cost
sides of valley. This practice can be adopted for the
effective. However, efficient utilization of water
valley lands which are at more than 10 m elevation
through micro irrigation system should be practiced.
than sea level to avoid the risk of sea water intrusion.
This will not only increase water productivity but will
Using this principle, three open dug well of 2 m
also save labour and fertilizer. These systems can also
diameter each have been dug at Bloomsdale farm,
be linked to domestic water supply in rural areas by
CARI to irrigate 3 ha area. The cost of each well is
putting requisite water filtering systems.
about Rs. 80,000. The pumping test of the well
indicated that about 20 m3 water can be pumped per Water Policy for A&N Islands
day from the well which will provide about 24 cm of
Unlike other parts of the country, Union Territory of
water to 1 ha land in 120 days of the crop, sufficient for
A&N Islands is a non-contiguous group of islands.
irrigating at IW/CPE of 0.5.
Therefore, each island should be treated as single
Since the cost of developing water resources by above entity for water resource planning and development.
mentioned systems is high, application of water should The important islands should have a comprehensive
be practiced to achieve high irrigation efficiency. land and water resource management plan, keeping in
Micro irrigation system allows precise application of view the environmental and ecological impacts.
Ground
l water exploitation through bore wells Water conservation measures such as, mulching,
l
should be exclusively used only for drinking residue soil moisture management, minimising
purposes in view of typical confined aquifer evaporation losses, promotion of low water
characteristics. No bore well should be allowed requiring crops should be considered.
to be used for irrigation/industry. Water Quality
Exploitation of ground water resources should be
l Both
l surface and ground water should be
regulated to avoid detrimental environmental monitored regularly for its quality.
Mr Narendra Singh, FIE Mr H C S Berry, FIE, President, IEI Mr Ashok Kumar Basa, FIE
Chairman Past President, IEI
Mr Sisir Kumar Banerjee, FIE Mr Ved Prakash Bansal, FIE Mr V K Birthire, FIE Mr M B Dagaonkar, FIE Mr G Sudhakar, FIE
Mr Ghulam Mohd Dar, FIE Mr S J Desai, FIE Mr C M Dharmalingam, FIE Mr P S Gahlot, FIE Mr Janak Raj Garg, FIE
Mr V S Ghogare, FIE Mr Arvind Kumar Gupta, FIE Mr M K Jadav, FIE Mr D K Kashyap, FIE Mr Jahnabi Konar, FIE
Mr Kishore Kumar, FIE Mr V Vijaya Kumar, FIE Mr Archan Kusum Majumdar, FIE Mr A K Mitra, FIE Mr Jagdish Mohan, FIE
Mr L M Patra, FIE Dr I Satyanarayana Raju, FIE Mr Shivanand Roy, FIE Prof R H Shah, FIE Mr Parminder Singh, FIE